RAISING DEATHSHEAD HAWK MOTHS

Deathshead Hawkmoths are probably one of, if not the, most iconic moths in the world. Their bold colours, iconic skull markings and their rise to fame on the cover of The Silence of the Lambs its no wonder they are a firm favourite.

In early 2024 I decided these would be the first moths I would try to raise, after doing some research, I placed an order for some eggs in March and waited, and waited and waited… they didn’t arrive until August. In the mean time I was impatient and got hold of some Atlas Moth eggs and Luna Moth eggs and raised them - when my Deathshead Moth eggs did eventually arrive they hatched pretty quickly, grew well and it wasn’t long until they pupated and I had moths around November time. However it was cold, I was still learning - my moths did well, but none of the eggs laid hatched. I’ve put this down to my house being too cold possibly (I live in an old cottage and it gets really cold in winter!).

Anyway, fast forward to 2025 and an amazing friend gifted me with a lot of tiny Deathshead caterpillars.

They ate. They grew. They pupated. They emerged!

Adult Deathshead Hawkmoths need to feed on a honey/water mixture, however will not feed alone and need to be hand fed!

I was back at the point I had made it to successfully in 2024. The weather was on my side. It was warm. My moths got busy and egg laying started within a week or so, and boy can they lay! I’ve been getting new eggs every day for the last couple of weeks now.

Things are starting to slow down now, I only have 3 moths left and its only a handful of eggs each night now. The girls are old, and their wings are torn. I will miss them when they are gone!

But I have over 1000 eggs which are all starting to hatch!

And so, the cycle starts again!

Deathsheads are an amazing moth, they are an absolute pleasure to raise and care for.

There is a lot to learn with raising caterpillars. You might think “Oh it can’t be that difficult” - but really it can. You need to ensure you have the correct host plants available. Caterpillars won’t just eat anything. Each species has its own preferences and needs. They eat a lot too, so you need to make sure you have access to a lot of host plant.

They are messy - but like to be clean. They poo more than you can imagine. You need to make sure you have the time to clean them every day and provide them with fresh food.

Don’t over crowd them, as this can lead to further complications like to spread of illness or in some species even cannibalism. On the other hand, don’t provide them with a space that’s too large. They may wander off and then struggle to locate food.

Too warm. Too cold. Too humid. Too dry. These are all things you need to be aware of when it comes to raising caterpillars - however if you make a mistake it’s all part of learning. Sometimes they die for no known reason. It just happens!

Deathsheads also have the added need that adult moths need to be handfed. Yep! That’s right. You need to pick up every single one of your adult moths and uncurl their proboscis and place it in to a honey/water mixture to get them to feed. It takes some practice, they will put up a fight the first few times, but eventually they get used to it. However bare in mind this can be time consuming. Especially if you have a large number of moths.

But the important thing is too do your research and make sure you can provide your caterpillars and moths with the best care you can!

MY PEACOCK BUTTERFLY JOURNEY

One day in early June I set off on a walk, the sun was shining and it was a great day for a walk - I didn’t go very far in all honesty. Not too far from my house I found a verge covered in Nettle, and those Nettles were covered in Peacock Butterfly caterpillars. Tiny black spiky caterpillars. Hundreds of them. This is where the journey begins.

Being on a verge I knew they were at risk of the council removing the nettles without a second thought, so I scooped them up and took them home with me.

Wow! Am I glad I did. Only a few days later the verge was bare, cut to the ground - the nettles were causing no issue, other than being “unwanted” I would assume. With butterflies, moths, bees and all variety of other insects already in decline, its no wonder when our councils so readily remove these vital host plants.
We so often see memos of how “we” should do better - No Mow May, Let It Bloom June etc etc - but the councils are out there destroying vital parts of the ecosystem. Many of our native butterflies only have one brood a year. If we wipe those out, this can have a huge impact on the local population the following year and even see species disappear entirely from certain areas .

You can have all the beautiful flowers you want in your garden, but you wont see any butterflies if they are unable able to find suitable plants to lay their eggs on - butterflies have certain host plants, they will not just lay their eggs on any plants, and their caterpillars will not just eat any plant either. They require specific plants.

For many of our native species that is the common Nettle. A plant that many readily remove from their gardens. Peacocks, Red Admirals, Tortoiseshells and Commas all rely on Nettle, without it they can not lay eggs and their caterpillars can not survive.

Over the next couple of weeks they continued to grow - eventually forming their chrysalis’ at the top of their net cage.

Around 10-14 days later they started to emerge. Peacock Butterflies. Beautiful. Hundreds of them.

Today I released the final ones. Over 300 Peacock Butterflies were released. Over 300 Peacock Butterflies that would have been destroyed as tiny caterpillars had I not scooped them up and taken them home.

Our native butterflies are in crisis. We need to do better.

OUR NEW WEBSITE!

Hello and Welcome to the Evil Eye Curiosities Website.

I have been selling my art on Etsy since 2018 and selling live specimens and vintage/antique pieces on Ebay since 2022 - with recent changes to Ebay policies it seemed like a good opportunity to finally build our own website where we could list everything in one place - making everything much easier!

Here you will be able to find entomology art and natural history displays, vintage/antique taxidermy and curiosities, DIY pinning kits and supplies as well as live specimens for raising your own insects.

I am aiming to provide a blog which will have lots of information including care guides and helpful hints and tips as well as behind the scenes/work in progress art blogs and frequent updates on current species I am raising.

Thanks for stopping by!

Nikki