---
title: "Elephant Hawkmoth"
description: "Deilephila elpenor — Insetos e aranhas. Deilephila elpenor, the elephant hawk moth or large elephant hawk moth, is a moth in the family Sphingidae."
canonical: https://animalchecklist.com/pt/animal/elephant-hawkmoth
last_updated: 2026-09-20
---

# Elephant Hawkmoth

> Deilephila elpenor — Insetos e aranhas. Deilephila elpenor, the elephant hawk moth or large elephant hawk moth, is a moth in the family Sphingidae.

- Scientific name: *Deilephila elpenor*
- Category: `insects` (Insetos e aranhas)
- Habitats: unknown
- iNaturalist observations: 29620
- Wikidata: [Q161384](https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q161384)
- iNaturalist taxon: [55996](https://www.inaturalist.org/taxa/55996)

## Names

- en: Elephant Hawkmoth
- de: Mittlerer Weinschwärmer
- es: Polilla Esfinge Morada
- fr: Grand sphinx de la vigne
- nl: Groot avondrood
- pl: Zmrocznik gładysz

## Countries with the most observations

GB (9638), DE (3106), RU (2487), DK (2008), AT (1512), FR (1383), FI (980), PL (645), IT (574), ES (553), CZ (541), SE (495)

## Summary

Deilephila elpenor, the elephant hawk moth or large elephant hawk moth, is a moth in the family Sphingidae. Its common name is derived from the caterpillar's resemblance to an elephant's trunk. It is most common in Central Europe and is distributed throughout the Palearctic region. It has also been introduced in British Columbia, Canada. Its distinct olive and pink colouring makes it one of the most recognisable moths in its range, but confusing the elephant hawk moth with the small elephant hawk moth, a closely related species that also shares the characteristic colours, is quite common.
These moths are nocturnal…

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

## Photo

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

Photo: Stephen James McWilliam · CC0 · inaturalist — https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/121770674

## Machine access

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