69.005 BF1973 – Death's-head Hawk-moth – Acherontia atropos – (Linnaeus, 1758)
Adult Macro: CAT 3 – Difficult to identify – Quality set of photographs required – 
– click for Adult Macro Verification Guidelines
– click for Adult Macro Verification Guidelines
– Significant Record / Very Rare / Vagrant 
– Migrant 
– Day-flying
– easy to identify, generally distinctive and unlikely to be confused with other species.ID pointers: Unmistakable.
Distribution: (Last record: 25 August 2025 at Derby ) – A rare migrant species with the majority of reports having occurred in the county during September – October. Only recent records are of a caterpillar found on 2/9/ a Caterpillar found on 5/9/2022 in Allestree (iRecord) and an adult found at Hope Valley on 21/9/2024 (Patrickrj – per iRecord). A record of a caterpillar found in Derby on 25th Aug 2025.
General Comment: Although moth is unmistakeable, the CAT 3 has been set due to extreme rarity of adult moth in VC57.
*** Last updated on 8 February 2026 by TD ***
Last Recorded Year: 2025
Last Recorded By – Marc Blount – iRecord – a record of a caterpillar
Last Recorded General Area – Derby
Selected Images: Hope Valley – 21/9/2024 – Patrickrj per iRecord©
Image Gallery
No gallery images found for this moth.
Temporal Distribution Chart
Adults: (between 1956 - 2024) | Immatures: (between 1941 - 2025)
(click legend below to show/hide datasets)
Distribution Map for Acherontia atropos
Found 17 records
↳ from 2026+
↳ 4 from 2020 - 2025
↳ 13 from Before 2020
↳ from 2026+
↳ 4 from 2020 - 2025
↳ 13 from Before 2020
If the Map Layers function fails, just refresh the page and it should be OK after. Use the +- zoom on the top left, or on a tablet, use two fingers to zoom. Remember, the last layer you ticked is the one which displays the popup information - they sit on top of each other - de-select then re-select, to see the popup values.
Bedrock Geology ** indirectly affects moth distribution by influencing the type of habitat and food plants available in an area. In turn, this may affect the types of moths that can thrive, or where they can most likely be found.
NBN Atlas UK Distribution for – Acherontia atropos
⚠️ Please wait for the map to load fully – do not click the link shown.
Note – the NBN Atlas datasets are listed in the map below and vary in their currency (uptodateness) – however,
the map does give a general indication of the moth's distribution across the UK.
Monthly Records By Year:
Acherontia atropos
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Monthly Counts By Year:
Acherontia atropos
( data is based on 'Adult' stage records only )
First/Last Recorded Dates: Acherontia atropos
Adult-only & Anything [Larvae, Pupae, Adult, Mines]
Shading shows moth presence between dates
Click the colour discs below to Select/De-select as Required
Recordings By Year: Acherontia atropos
( All data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Annual Growth Rate (AGR): Acherontia atropos
AGR: 0% | Total % Change: 0%
Acherontia atropos
Insufficient records/data for an AGR analysis
Years Analysed: 2000 – 2026
Hectad (10kmx10km) Coverage: Acherontia atropos
( data includes both Larvae and Adult Stages )
Flight Periods – Indicative –vs– Recorded Data
Acherontia atropos
Acherontia atropos
Flight Period chart – the grey hatched area above, which can cross one or more months, pictorially represents the best guess we have for this moth's flight periods [month/s]. The coloured lines represent the actual months seen in flight, from site observation records received between 2020-2026.
Records Behind the Map and Charts - Acherontia atropos – 17 records available
Listed by Year - descending - scroll across to see all table columns
| Site Name | Tetrad | Date | Count | Stage | Recorder | Source | RecordKey |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Derby | SK44A | 25/08/2025 | 1 | larva | Blount , Marc | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC44770360 |
| Peak District National Park, Hope Valley, England, GB | SK18M | 21/09/2024 | 1 | Adult | patrickrj | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC38572309 |
| Croft House Way, Chesterfield, England, GB | SK47Q | 02/09/2023 | 1 | Larva | chochobbit | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC32794021 |
| Allestree, Derby | SK34K | 05/09/2022 | 1 | larva | Skrebels, Julia | vc57_irecords_extract | iBRC27998572 |
| Whaley Bridge (road nr school) | SK08A | 11/07/1990 | 1 | Adult | VC57 Derbyshire Recorder | vc57_danes_bc_data | LC000334001OIUIC |
| Raynesway, Derby (BT Computer Centre) | SK33X | 17/05/1990 | 1 | Adult | VC57 Derbyshire Recorder | vc57_danes_bc_data | LC000334001OIU8I |
| Storrs Rd, Chesterfield | SK37K | 25/09/1980 | 1 | Adult | VC57 Derbyshire Recorder | vc57_danes_bc_data | LC000334001OINBL |
| Troway, Dronfield | SK37Z | 01/09/1979 | 1 | Adult | VC57 Derbyshire Recorder | vc57_danes_bc_data | LC000334001OILY5 |
| Gleadless Townend, Sheffield | SK38W | 17/09/1969 | 1 | Adult | VC57 Derbyshire Recorder | vc57_danes_bc_data | LC000334001OIHPQ |
| Hilton, Burton on Trent (site not precise) | SK23K | 01/09/1958 | 1 | Adult | VC57 Derbyshire Recorder | vc57_danes_bc_data | LC000334001OHDUH |
| Belper (site not precise) | SK34M | 01/10/1956 | 1 | Adult | VC57 Derbyshire Recorder | vc57_danes_bc_data | LC000334001OIDHT |
| Castleton (site not precise) | SK18L | 14/09/1956 | 1 | Adult | VC57 Derbyshire Recorder | vc57_danes_bc_data | LC000334001OIDHP |
| Holmewood (site not precise) | SK46H | 14/09/1956 | 1 | Adult | VC57 Derbyshire Recorder | vc57_danes_bc_data | LC000334001OIDHQ |
| Mapleton, Ashbourne (site not precise) | SK14T | 01/09/1956 | 1 | Adult | VC57 Derbyshire Recorder | vc57_danes_bc_data | LC000334001OIDHM |
| Chesterfield | SK37W | 11/09/1952 | 2 | Larvae | VC57 Derbyshire Recorder | vc57_danes_bc_data | LC000334001OIDD5 |
| Bakewell (site not precise) | SK26E | 01/01/1949 | 1 | Adult | [VC57 Recorder] | vc57_danes_bc_data | LC000334001TAGB0 |
| Weston on Trent | SK42E | 16/08/1941 | 1 | Larvae | VC57 Derbyshire Recorder | vc57_danes_bc_data | LC000334001OIDAR |