Also known as African Death's-head Hawkmoth, Bee Robber
Death's head hawkmoths possess a remarkable chemical camouflage that mimics the scent of honeybees, allowing adults to freely raid domestic and wild hives to pierce honeycombs with their short, stout proboscis. When alarmed, both caterpillars and adults produce an audible, shrill squeak by forcing air rapidly through their pharynx, an extraordinarily rare acoustic defense among Lepidoptera. Strong migratory flyers, these moths travel thousands of kilometers north each spring from tropical Africa into Europe and western Asia.
