Oleander Hawk Moth (Daphnis nerii)

Oleander Hawk Moth (Daphnis nerii)

Oleander Hawk Moth (Daphnis nerii)
Location: Kohala Coast, Big Island, Hawaii

Yesterday I posted a photo of a colorful caterpillar that is the larval stage of the Oleander Hawk Moth.   Today's photo shows the adult Oleander Hawk Moth (Daphnis nerii).   Don't you love it's camouflage suit?

We see only a handful of these large heavy-bodied moths around our garden each year.  This one was perched at the base of a stone wall.  After I took a few shots like this, I tried to move the moth so that I could photograph it from a better angle, but the moth would have none of that.  As soon as I touched it, off it flew!


Update: Here's a much better picture of an Oleander Hawk Moth.

5 comments:

2sweetnsaxy said...

Wow, look at the color of that thing! Amazing!

BNS said...

Hi 2Sweet - It really is a snazzy-looking moth, I think.

Bobbie

JunieRose2005 said...

I have posted about a similar moth.

And I recently found another dead one in my garage!!

If you'd like to see it , check out the post below.



http://juniesplace.blogspot.com/2008/04/photo-projects-pg-plt.html


Junie Rose

Anonymous said...

Hi BNS! Nice photo. We have the Oleander Hawkmoths in India too. Thanks for posting :)

BNS said...

HI - Thanks for visiting. I didn't know there were oleander hawk moths in India -- now I do!

Bobbie