Elephant Hawk Moth Care Guide
This care guide refers to the larger Elephant Hawk Moth species, Deilephila elpenor.
Eggs should be kept in closed plastic containers to prevent them drying out. They are pale green in colour. When the eggs start hatching, the young caterpillars will benefit from extra humidity at this time, which can be applied by finely misting the inside lid of the container - do not spray directly onto the eggs or allow them to sit in water droplets as this can drown the embryo or cause mould to grow, killing the developing caterpillar before it can hatch.
The best host plants for Elephant Hawk Moths include: Willowherb, Fuchsia, Bedstraw, Grapevine, Loostrife, and Primrose. I find exceptionally fast growth on Willowherb, which is essentially a weed and grows almost everywhere!
You can add leaves to their container once the caterpillars hatch, but do not add any prior to this as leaves will release moisture and this often causes the eggs to mould before hatching. I prefer to transfer hatchlings to a new container so that eggs are not affected. Pupation typically occurs around 4-5 weeks after the caterpillar hatches from the egg. Rearing is very easy following standard methods.
When caterpillars are mature and fully-grown, they will begin to search for somewhere to pupate. In nature, they burrow underground and construct a small chamber within which they pupate. In captivity, you can provide a tray of compost for the caterpillars to pupate among, or move them to another container full of paper towel. The latter is my preferred method, as it is simpler and cleaner.
Elephant Hawk Moths typically have a single brood, with adult moths emerging the following spring/summer, however sometimes a small number will emerge and produce a second brood.
Adult moths benefit from feeding - offer cut flowers for them to drink nectar from, although hand feeding with sugar solution will produce better results in terms of breeding. A 60cm mesh cage would be ample size for around 10-15 adults, whilst a 90cm cage could accommodate larger numbers. Both are available to purchase on this site.