No Really, It's Real. Who Knew? Oh... Maybe Everyone

I often wonder how I can be nearly 40 and unaware of things that everyone else seems to have known about for ages. Of course I've seen the cover of "The Silence of the Lambs." I've seen the creepy skull-backed moth across Clarice's mouth, but I had no idea the moth was real.
In case there is anyone else out there as clueless as myself, it's called a death's-head hawk-moth.

Acherontia

The death's-head hawk-moth is a rare species whose primary habitat is southern Europe and Asia. Many feel its arrival is the harbinger of bad news or even death. Eep!

I was made aware of them after seeing this tweet by Tristan Reid. I loved the look of the caterpillar and that ridiculous head. I assumed the caterpillar earned the name because it used its spiky bulbous head for combat or something. Ha! So, I had to research 'cause I can't just stay stupid.

RT @Strange_Animals: Death’s head moth caterpillars. pic.twitter.com/MWNFhe9Iqd
— Tristan Reid (@inkednaturalist) January 29, 2014

Apparently the photographer of the above tweet is Igor Siwanowicz.


Here is an image of the adult moth. Wow!













Cause I'm an English teacher:
"Butterfly Conservation." Meet The Death's-head Hawk-moth. Butterfly Conservation: Company, 10 Oct. 2013. Web. 29 Jan. 2014.
"Death's-head Hawkmoth." Wikipedia.com. Wikimedia Foundation, 3 Dec. 2013. Web. 29 Jan. 2014.