Cool Things You Need To Know

• Unlike other moths the Death’s-Head Hawkmoth does not feed on nectar but instead prefers the sweet taste of honey…stolen fresh from bee hives.
• This particular moth has had a few roles in pertinent Hollywood hits including a starring role on the movie poster from Silence of the Lambs (you can see the skull on the back of the moth’s head was altered)
• Appearing in The Silence of the Lambs is the only thing silent about the Death’s-Head Hawkmoth as they are know to make very high pitched squeals if threatened

Adapted to a Life of Crime

The Death’s-Head Hawkmoth has a lot of interesting behaviours but I think the most fascinating is their adoption of living a life of crime. What do I mean? Well, in order for these flying thieves to feed on their favourite snack, honey, they need to steal it from the producers, honey bees. As you could imagine this is one job you would not want to botch because I don’t think I would want to confront a colony of angry bees. Luckily, our criminal friend has a few adaptations that allows them to enter and walk through the hive like any other bee:

• Clawed Feet – Allow the moth to climb around the hive easily and effortlessly 
• Short Proboscis – This allows the moth to easily penetrate the honeycomb and suck out the sugary goodness
• Thick Cuticle – If you get caught, this one could save your life as they have a thick cuticle covering their body to protect against stingers
• Chemicals – The Death’s-Head Hawkmoth is able to mimic the chemical makeup of bees tricking the bees into thinking they are one of them. This is the most important adaptation

  

A Noisy Thief

For such a successful criminal, I find it interesting that they are rather noisy. You would think these moths would be as tight-lipped as possible. But no, as mentioned earlier these interesting insects are capable of producing a high pitched squeal by forcing air out of their proboscis (also known as their honey sucking tube). They typically make this sound when frightened but they have also been observed to create this high-pitched squeak while sneaking through the bee hive.

Why would they make noise while completing a honey heist?

Some researchers believe that they do this in order to mimic the Queen Bee, who will make a similar noise in an effort to control her worker bees. Believe it or not, this squeak sounds exactly like the Queen’s order to “stop moving”, so while it hasn’t been proven yet, the Death’s-Head Hawkmoth may actually be convincing the entire hive to stop moving while they rob the honey from the bank….clever little moths, aren’t they?