Acherontia atropos

African death's head hawkmoth
Female
Female underside
Scientific classification
Domain:	Eukaryota
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Sphingidae
Genus:	Acherontia
Species:	A. atropos
Binomial name
Acherontia atropos (Linnaeus, 1758)
Distribution map   All year distribution   Summer distribution possible
Synonyms
Sphinx atropos Linnaeus, 1758 Acherontia solani Oken, 1815 Acherontia sculda Kirby, 1877 Acherontia atropos conjuncta Tutt, 1904 Acherontia atropos extensa Tutt, 1904 Acherontia atropos flavescens Tutt, 1904 Acherontia atropos imperfecta Tutt, 1904 Acherontia atropos intermedia Tutt, 1904 Acherontia atropos obsoleta Tutt, 1904 Acherontia atropos suffusa Tutt, 1904 Acherontia atropos variegata Tutt, 1904 Acherontia atropos virgata Tutt, 1904 Acherontia atropos violacea Lambillion, 1905 Acherontia atropos charon Closs, 1910 Acherontia atropos diluta Closs, 1911 Acherontia atropos obscurata Closs, 1917 Acherontia atropos myosotis Schawerda, 1919 Acherontia atropos confluens Dannehl, 1925 Acherontia atropos moira Dannehl, 1925 Acherontia atropos pulverata Cockayne, 1953 Acherontia atropos radiata Cockayne, 1953 Acherontia atropos griseofasciata Lempke, 1959

Acherontia atropos, the African death's-head hawkmoth, is the most widely recognized of three species within the genus Acherontia (the other two being Acherontia lachesis and Acherontia styx). It is most commonly identified by the vaguely skull-shaped pattern adorning the thorax, the characteristic from which its common and scientific names are derived. The species was first given its scientific name by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.

Death's-head hawk moths are large, ranging from 3.5 to 5 inches (80–120 mm) as adults.^[1] The upper wings are dark, creating a stark contrast between them and the lower wings, which range from a bright yellow to a light cream, yellow being the more common.

A. atropos appears in popular media, including the films The Silence of the Lambs (1991), Dracula (1958), and The Blood Beast Terror (1967).^[2]

It is commonly found in Southern Europe and throughout much of Africa, from where it is considered to be a native species. Annually, A. atropos migrates to parts of Great Britain, most numerously to the British Isles, where it is less commonly seen than in its native place of residency.^[2]