Bedstraw Hawk-Moth

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The Bedstraw Hawk-Moth (Hyles gallii) is a European moth of the family Sphingidae.

"The Bedstraw Hawk-Moth - Fore wings olive brown, with a broad, irregular, whitish stripe along the middle; hind wings black at the base; then a broad pinkish-white band, quite white near the body, and bright pink about the middle; then a distinct black band, and then a grey margin; thorax and body olive-brown, a white line on each side of the thorax just at the base of the wings; this line runs on each side along the head just above the eye; sides of the body with black and whitish spots.

The caterpillar is smooth, bluish-green above, inclining to pink beneath, sometimes brown and sometimes black, but always having a pale, almost yellow, line down the middle of the back, and a row of ten conspicuous eye-like yellow spots, on each side; the head is green, brown, or black, according to the colour of the caterpillar, but the horn above the tail is invariably red.

Feeds on the Ladies' Bedstraw on sand-hills by the seacoast, especially near Deal, and is not uncommon, but requires to be diligently sought after.

The chrysalis is brown, and is found in the sand. The caterpillar feeds in August and September, and the Moth appears about Midsummer."

This information was taken from the public-domain The Illustrated Natural History of British Moths (1869) by Edward Newman.