Deilephila porcellus
In 3 days ~40% in a week ~70%
Deilephila porcellus, the small elephant hawk-moth, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. The species was first described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae. It is found in Europe, North Africa and West Asia.
The wingspan is 45–51 millimeters (1.8–2.0 in). The moth flies from May to July depending on the location. The forewings are ochreous with a faint olive tinge; the front margin is edged and blotched with pinkish, and there is a broad but irregular band of the same colour on the outer margin. The hindwings are blackish on their upper margin, pinkish on their outer margin, and ochreous tinged with olive between. The fringes are chequered whitish, sometimes tinged with pink. The head, thorax, and body are pinkish, more or less variegated with olive; the thorax has a patch of white hairs above the base of the wings. It is highly variable in colouration. In drier and warmer and arid areas of Asia Minor and Central Asia the pink colouration is absent. Form rosea Zerny is intermediate; f. indistincta Tutt is pinkish grey; f. suellus is yellowish sandy buff.
The larva is greyish brown or darker grey, merging into yellowish... Wikipedia →
| # | Park | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Aigüestortes National Park | 🇪🇸 Spain | |
| 2 | Mercantour National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 3 | Pyrénées National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 4 | Vanoise National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 5 | Cévennes National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 6 | Triglav National Park | 🇸🇮 Slovenia | |
| 7 | Ecrins National Park | 🇫🇷 France | |
| 8 | Wadden Sea National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 9 | Fertő-Hanság National Park | 🇭🇺 Hungary | |
| 10 | Bavarian Forest National Park | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 11 | Snowdonia National Park | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom |
| # | City | Country | Daily sighting probability |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | London | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 2 | Manchester | 🇬🇧 United Kingdom | |
| 3 | Cologne | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 4 | Berlin | 🇩🇪 Germany | |
| 5 | Vienna | 🇦🇹 Austria | |
| 6 | Prague | 🇨🇿 Czechia | |
| 7 | Copenhagen | 🇩🇰 Denmark | |
| 8 | Moscow | 🇷🇺 Russia |
Possible
About 20% of wildlife watchers report a Small Elephant Hawkmoth sighting in Mercantour National Park on a given day, based on 18 verified sightings from GBIF citizen-science data from 2019 to 2026. It is the 119th most-seen of the 412 insects we can rate there. Over three days the chance rises to about 40%, and over a week to about 70%, if each day is a fresh chance.
June
In that month about 30% of wildlife watchers report a Small Elephant Hawkmoth in Mercantour National Park on a given day, against under 5% in September to May, the lowest months.
Between 10 pm and 1 am
Across all the parks we cover, that three-hour window holds the most Small Elephant Hawkmoth sightings with a recorded time, and about 6 in 10 of them come between 6 pm and 6 am: it is seen both by day and at night.
Among the best
Of the 11 parks where we can rate Small Elephant Hawkmoth sightings, Mercantour National Park ranks 2nd at about 20%, level with the leaders once rounded. The best odds are in Aigüestortes National Park (Spain, about 20%).
Same family: Sphingidae
The closest relatives of the Small Elephant Hawkmoth that you can see in Mercantour National Park (family Sphingidae, Sphinx Moths) are Leafy Spurge Hawkmoth (about 20%), Striped Hawkmoth (about 20%) and Pine Hawkmoth (about 10%), with each one's daily chance of a sighting.
GBIF citizen-science records
It is estimated from how often the Small Elephant Hawkmoth is recorded against all the insects logged in Mercantour National Park (18 verified sightings from 2019 to 2026), calibrated against known sighting rates. Figures are rounded to the nearest 10% because citizen-science data supports honest approximations, not decimals, and months with records from fewer than five people show "—". How it works.
