You would think that with bright pink markings on its ‘fur’, wings and body and white legs and antennae, this would be a unique species. There are, in fact, two similar species, the elephant Hawk-moth and the Small Elephant Hawk-moth, Deilephila porcellus . This is the latter species, with a wing length of 21 – 25 mm.
It is a common moth in the Bailiwick, which proves how useful it is to have a moth trap as I had never seen one before. It can be found on the wing from May through to July. It will feed on a variety of plants: Viper’s Bugloss (More common in Herm than in Guernsey), Campions, Honeysuckle, Red Valerian and Rhododendrons. There is plenty of Red Campion in my garden and I also have Rhododendrons. I planted two native Honeysuckles, Lonicera periclymenum, in 2020 and they are just coming into flower. I have yet to see the Small Elephant Hawk-moth feeding but I assume it has a long proboscis that can probe the long funnel-shaped flowers to collect nectar. I only started moth trapping last summer so it is possible that this species was already present, but I like to think my efforts towards making my garden wildlife-friendly are reaping the reward and increasing the area’s biodiversity.
Its name supposedly comes from the larva or caterpillar which resembles an elephant’s trunk. The larva feed on bedstraws and I have plenty of Hedge Bedstraw, Galium mollugo, in the roadside bank.
Natural history of the Bailiwick of Guernsey 