Death's-head Hawk Moth

A grisly name for a special butterfly. Its name refers to the typical light mark on the breast which is wider at the top and in which there are two dark areas. You don’t need much imagination to see a human skull here.

Because of its love of honey, it is always found in beehives. This has its dangers, because bees can attack en masse and sting intruders to death. However, the butterfly often succeeds in getting into a beehive. Funnily enough, the bees often leave it alone. It’s thought that the butterfly emits a certain substance which makes the bees think it’s one of them. If it does get attacked, it squeaks. This sound resembles that of a bee when it wants to be calm. Nevertheless, butterflies do sometimes get killed during their raids. And sometimes the butterfly is killed and then walled up inside the nest.