The Death’s Head Hawkmoth & 19th- century literatureIt’s time for a little entom
The Death’s Head Hawkmoth & 19th- century literatureIt’s time for a little entomology in Wilson Library Special Collections! Today’s bug is the beautiful but bleak death’s head hawkmoth. Though there are three species of moths grouped under this moniker (Acherontia Atropos, Acherontia lachesis, and Acherontia styx) all three of them share the same signature skull-shaped markings.This peculiar patterning makes the death’s head hawkmoth a particular favorite of writers and filmmakers. Although you might remember this moth most vividly from The Silence of the Lambs, the death’s head hawkmoth can actually trace its pop culture roots all the way back to the 19th century! Because of the spooky pattern that adorns its back, the 19th-century was particularly obsessed with all things Acherontia. You can spot references to this macabre moth in the pages of Bram Stoker’s Dracula, Poe’s “The Sphinx”, and in this beautifully illustrated copy of A true relation of the apparition of Mrs. Veal ( 1883, located in Wilson Library Special Collections). If you want to try your hand at finding the references to the death’s head hawkmoth in these works, you’re in luck! Wilson Library has copies of all three chilling tales in their special collections! So come visit if you want to learn more about these little lepidopterans! -- source link
#entomology#spooky#skulls#butterflies#horror stories#zoology#horror#19th century