Moth – Elephant Hawk Moth (Deilephila elpenor)

Few British moths match the Elephant Hawk Moth (Deilephila elpenor) for sheer colour. Its olive and pink livery looks almost tropical, yet it is widespread across Europe and into temperate Asia, hovering at honeysuckle and valerian on warm summer evenings. The common name comes not from the adult but from the larva, whose swollen thorax and retractable head give it a passing resemblance to an elephant's trunk.

Its name comes from the extraordinary shape of its caterpillar, whose long, tapering body and retractable head give the illusion of an elephant’s trunk. Reaching up to eight centimetres in length, the caterpillar darkens from green to brown as it matures and features large false eyespots that inflate when threatened — an effective mimicry of a snake’s face that startles predators.

The adult moth’s large, sensitive eyes allow colour vision at night, and its strong, hovering flight makes it an efficient nocturnal pollinator. Usually single-brooded, the species flies from late May to August, though adults may appear slightly earlier or later in warmer regions. Striking in both form and behaviour, the Elephant Hawk Moth is one of the most recognisable and charismatic insects of the European summer.

Bugs is a collection of natural history illustration prints drawn from the insect world - beetles, flies, bugs, butterflies, and moths selected for the strangeness, beauty, and variety of their forms.

Each illustration is adapted from Simon Tyler's book Bugs, published by Pavilion in 2017 and subsequently published in French and Chinese. The series draws on the tradition of scientific natural history illustration - precise, considered, and attentive to the details that make each species distinctive.

Insects account for the majority of all known animal species on Earth. This collection is a small survey of what that diversity looks like.

All prints are produced to order on 250gsm archival matte paper using pigment-based inks, chosen for colour accuracy and long-term stability.

Each print is rolled in acid-free tissue and shipped in a rigid cardboard tube, sealed for moisture protection, ready for framing on arrival.

Large · 70 × 50 cm · 28 × 20 in

XLarge · 100 × 70 cm · 40 × 28 in

UK: Free · 3-5 working days

Europe: €8.50 · 3-7 working days · No customs charges

USA & Canada: $8.95 / $12.00 CAD · 5-10 working days

Australia: $14.00 AUD · 5-10 working days

Rest of World: £14.95 · 7-14 working days

All prints are produced to order and dispatched within 1-3 working days. Orders placed before 5pm GMT ship the same day. You'll receive tracking information by email once dispatched.

Orders outside Europe may be subject to local customs charges on delivery - these are the responsibility of the recipient.

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Returns accepted within 30 days. Email returns@axisophy.com with your order number and we'll provide return instructions.

Return postage is the customer's responsibility except where the print arrives damaged or there's been an error - in which case we'll arrange a replacement or refund immediately, no return needed.

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