About Smerinthus ocellata Linnaeus, 1758
This species, commonly called the Eyed Hawk-Moth, gets its common name from a large, beautiful eye-like spot present on each of its hind wings. Edward Newman’s original historical description of the species reads as follows: The fore wings are brown, covered with a very attractive reddish bloom, and marked with olive-brown clouded patterns. The hind wings are a delicate rosy red near the base, and pale brown towards the margin. Each hind wing bears a large, beautiful eye-like spot: the center of the spot is grey, this grey center is surrounded by a ring of blue, and the blue ring is in turn surrounded by a black ring. The caterpillar has rough skin with a shagreen-like texture. It is pale green, speckled with white, and has seven oblique white stripes along each side. The horn on its tail is blue. Caterpillars are very common in autumn, feeding on apple trees in gardens and on willow bushes in hedgerows. The chrysalis is glossy red-brown. Adult moths can be found around Midsummer.
