Video: Residents make stunning discovery in garden
Insect is apparently aggressive.
The Van Zyl couple and their grandson had mixed feelings when in late December they found a rather ominous-looking caterpillar in their garden.
Petra and Alwyn van Zyl were spending some quality time in the garden with their grandson Sebastian Smit, who was visiting from Cape Town, when they came across a brightly coloured yellow and blue caterpillar the size of a small banana. After much research they found out that it was a death’s head hawk moth caterpillar.
According to Wikipedia “The name death’s head hawk moth refers to any one of the three moth species of the genus Acherontia. These moths are easily distinguishable by the vaguely human skull-shaped pattern of markings on the thorax.
“These moths have several unusual features. They have the ability to emit a loud chirp if irritated. The sound is produced by inhaling and expelling air, which vibrates the epipharynx like an accordion, often accompanied by flashing of the brightly colored abdomen in a further attempt to deter predators.
The chirp of the death’s head hawk moth takes approximately one-fifth of a second. A study by National Geographic found that the epipharynx was originally built to suck up honey, but was modified to produce sound.
“It is commonly observed raiding beehives of different species of honey bee for honey. It only attacks colonies of the well-known western honey bee, Apis mellifera. They can move about in hives without being disturbed because they mimic the scent of the bees,” stated Wikipedia.
But the most startling fact is that the moth can have a wingspan of up to 20cm.
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