Acherontia lachesis is a large (up to 13 cm wingspan)
Sphingid moth found in
India and much of the Oriental region, one of the three species of
Death's-head Hawkmoth, also known as the
Bee Robber. It is
nocturnal, and very fond of
honey; they can
mimic the
scent of
honey bees so that they can enter a hive unharmed to get honey. Their
tongue, which is stout and very strong, enables them to pierce the
wax cells and suck the honey out. This species occurs throughout almost the entire Oriental region, from
India,
Pakistan and
Nepal to the
Philippines, and from southern
Japan and the southern
Russian Far East to
Indonesia, where it attacks colonies of several different honey bee species. It has recently become established on the Hawaiian Islands.
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