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Sticker of Pine hawk-moth
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Pine hawk-moth

Sphinx pinastri
Eats: PlantsMothsForests and woods6 legs

The pine hawk-moth is a big grey moth with little black dashes on its wings. When it sits on the bark of a pine tree, it is very hard to see. It is a hawk-moth, a strong and fast flyer.

Lives in
Europe and Asia, in pine and spruce forests
Wingspan
7 to 8.9 cm (2.8 to 3.5 in)
Top speed
about 47 km/h (29 mph)
Flying, estimate
Can it hurt you?
Harmless
Harmless. It cannot bite or sting.
What does it eat?
Its caterpillars munch the needles of pine and spruce trees.
For real!Photo of Pine hawk-moth
Picture by Michael Apel. CC BY-SA 3.0, via Wikimedia Commons.

How big is it?

How wide are its wings?

Pine hawk-moth wings about 8.9 cm tip to tip (3.5 in)A toy building brick about 3.2 cm (1.3 in)A crayon about 9 cm (3.5 in)A banana about 18 cm (7.1 in)
wings as wide as 3 toy building brickscould fly across a whole football pitch in 8 seconds

How big is Pine hawk-moth compared to YOU?

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How fast is it?

cool stuff

Fun facts

1

Its wings are 7 to 9 centimetres across, wider than a grown-up's palm.

2

The mother lays her eggs in little groups of two or three along pine or spruce needles.

3

It flies from April to August, depending on where it lives.

4

Its back has two dark bands, one on each side.

you asked

Most asked questions about Pine hawk-moth

?What does the pine hawk-moth caterpillar eat?

It eats the needles of pine and spruce trees.

?How big is the pine hawk-moth?

Its wings are about 70 to 89 millimetres across.

?Is the pine hawk-moth dangerous?

No. It is a harmless moth.

For bug experts

Scientific name
Sphinx pinastri
Named by
Linnaeus, 1758
Group
Moths
Family
Sphingidae
Classification
Insecta > Lepidoptera > Sphingidae
Lives on
Europe, Asia

Where the facts come from

  1. Sphinx pinastri (Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0): what it looks like, where it lives, what it eats, sizes and fun facts, retold in simple words.
  2. Picture by Michael Apel. CC BY-SA 3.0, Wikimedia Commons. The round sticker of this bug is cut from the same picture.

If we got something wrong, sorry, we are bug fans, not a science journal. Tell us at hello@bugwiki.app and we will fix it.

More from the same group: Moths

Also at home here: Forests and woods