---
title: "Eyed Hawkmoth"
description: "Smerinthus ocellata — Insects & spiders. Smerinthus ocellatus, the eyed hawk-moth, is a European moth of the family Sphingidae."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/animal/eyed-hawkmoth
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Eyed Hawkmoth

> Smerinthus ocellata — Insects & spiders. Smerinthus ocellatus, the eyed hawk-moth, is a European moth of the family Sphingidae.

- Scientific name: *Smerinthus ocellata*
- Category: `insects` (Insects & spiders)
- Habitats: `forest` (Forest)
- iNaturalist observations: 8357
- Wikidata: [Q50404928](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q50404928)
- iNaturalist taxon: [205135](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/205135)

## Names

- en: Eyed Hawkmoth
- de: Abendpfauenauge
- fr: Sphinx demi-paon

## Countries with the most observations

GB (1180), RU (1028), DE (991), DK (788), FR (503), AT (434), PL (382), ES (323), FI (316), LT (228), SE (213), NL (209)

## Summary

Smerinthus ocellatus, the eyed hawk-moth, is a European moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.
The eyespots are not visible in resting position, where the forewings cover them. They are displayed when the moth feels threatened, and may startle a potential predator, giving the moth a chance to escape.

Text: Wikipedia (en), CC BY-SA 4.0 — https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Smerinthus_ocellatus

## Photo

![Eyed Hawkmoth](https://animalchecklist.com/img/animals/eyed-hawkmoth/medium.jpg)

Photo: Liviu Chiriac · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/348918140

## Machine access

`GET https://animalchecklist.com/api/v1/animals/eyed-hawkmoth?lang=en` — see [openapi.json](https://animalchecklist.com/openapi.json).