Coprosma hawk moth
Hippotion scrofa
The coprosma hawk moth is a big, fast hawk moth from Australia and nearby islands. Hawk moths have strong bodies and narrow wings, and they zoom from flower to flower. This one is named after a shrub its caterpillar likes to eat.
Lives in
Australia, New Caledonia and Vanuatu
Wingspan
7 cm (2.8 in)
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It is a moth that cannot bite or sting.
What does it eat?
Its caterpillars eat willowherb, the mirror bush called Coprosma, morning glory and fuchsia.
How big is it?
How wide are its wings?
🧱wings as wide as 2 toy building bricks⚽could fly across a whole football pitch in 9 seconds
How big is Coprosma hawk moth compared to YOU?
Just maths in your browser. Nothing is saved or sent anywhere.
How fast is it?
A kid running fast about 13 km/h (8.1 mph)
A grown-up on a bike about 25 km/h (16 mph)
Coprosma hawk moth about 42 km/h (26 mph)
A car driving in town about 50 km/h (31 mph)
cool stuff
Fun facts
1
With its wings spread out it is about 7 centimetres wide.
2
It looks very much like two of its cousins. You tell them apart by small white spots and lines on the body.
3
Its caterpillars can live on garden plants like fuchsia.
you asked
Most asked questions about Coprosma hawk moth
?What does the coprosma hawk moth caterpillar eat?
Willowherb, Coprosma bushes, morning glory and fuchsia.
?How big is the coprosma hawk moth?
Its wings measure about 70 millimetres from tip to tip.
For bug experts
- Scientific name
- Hippotion scrofa
- Group
- Moths
- Family
- Sphingidae
- Classification
- Insecta > Lepidoptera > Sphingidae
- Lives on
- Australia and Oceania
Where the facts come from
- Hippotion scrofa (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
- Picture by Donald Hobern. CC BY 2.0, Wikimedia Commons. The sticker of this bug is drawn from this picture.
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