Lepidoptera The Large Elephant Moth – Charocampa Elpenor
This species (
Plate IX, fig. 3) is very similar to the last in form and markings; but is, as its name implies, larger.
The caterpillar, too, is very like that of the last species, but may be distinguished from it by the possession of a short black horn, tipped with white, on the ‘tail.’ Its colour is green or brown, mottled and spotted with black. The eye-like spots on its fifth and sixth segments are black, and each contains a brown spot surrounded by a white line.
Its chief food plants are the hairy willow herb (Epilobium hirsutum), three species of bedstraw (Galium verum, G. Mollugo and G. palustre), the purple loosestrife (Lythrum Salicaria), and the enchanter’s nightshade (Circaa lutetiana). It will also feed on the vine and the apple in confinement.