Maiden Flight of the Oleander Hawkmoth

A small, brown, faceless thing, approximately 6.5 centimetres long, was found in the North Island nursery amongst the seedlings, wriggling between the spilled soil. Its finders left it on my desk with a note (see below).

Identifying it as a moth pupa was easy, but identifying the species proved a lot more difficult. From the size, it was clear that the sarcophagus contained a large species. Since we’ve come across a few spectacular death’s head hawkmoths in the past, this was the first species that came to mind. The plan was to carefully put some soil back on top of the pupa and keep it in the office to hatch, but to our surprise, we were spared the waiting. A small crack appeared in the pupa skin. A little while later, the adult moth emerged and unfolded its still moist wings.

The adult form now allowed for proper species identification. Excitingly, it is a rarer species of hawkmoth, namely the oleander hawkmoth (Daphnis nerii). It is listed as “a rarely seen hawkmoth found in the granitics” in the guide Wildlife of Seychelles by Mike Hill and Dave Currie.

The animal was kept a little longer under surveillance to prevent untimely transformation into a skink or bird snack before being able to use its wings. We released it, placing it on a bush just outside our office when it was ready.

Photos thanks to North Island.