Oleander hawk-moth
Daphnis nerii Linnaeus, 1758
Status not recordedbutterflies and moths
The oleander hawk-moth (Daphnis nerii) is an insect in the butterflies and moths subgroup, belonging to the family Sphingidae. It is classified in the order Lepidoptera, superfamily Bombycoidea, subfamily Macroglossinae and tribe Macroglossini, within the genus Daphnis.
Quick facts about the oleander hawk-moth
The species was named by Linnaeus, 1758, and is also called the Army green moth or Oleander hawk moth.
- Weight
- Not recorded
- Length
- Not recorded
- Lifespan
- Not recorded
- Main food
- Not recorded
- Habitat
- Not recorded
- Young per litter or clutch
- Not recorded
- Active
- Day and night (cathemeral)src for Active
- Migration
- Migratorysrc for Migration
- Generations a year
- Twosrc for Generations a year
- Conservation status
- Not recorded
- Countries on record
- Not recorded
What eats the oleander hawk-moth?
Species recorded in published studies and collections.
Each pair is recorded by at least two independent datasets. A record shows the animal was seen or found to have eaten the other, including scavenged carcasses and young animals; it does not say how often. Compiled by Global Biotic Interactions (CC0 1.0).
References for these records
- Poelen, J. H. Global Biotic Interactions: Interpreted Data Products. Zenodo https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.5708970 (2021).
- https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/21414973
Photos of the oleander hawk-moth
Only freely licensed photos are shown. Each carries its creator and licence.
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Where does the oleander hawk-moth live?
Not recorded
Where has it been introduced?
The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the oleander hawk-moth as introduced in 1 country.
Also listed for parts of: United States (Hawaii).
Introduced means brought by people and now present; invasive means the country's checklist records an impact. A species can be native to one part of a country and introduced in another. Source: Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (CC BY 4.0).
What is the oleander hawk-moth?
Daphnis nerii, the oleander hawk-moth or army green moth, is a moth of the family Sphingidae. It was described by Carl Linnaeus in his 1758 10th edition of Systema Naturae.
From the Wikipedia article “Daphnis nerii” (en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Daphnis_nerii&oldid=1379176568), by Wikipedia contributors, licensed under CC BY-SA 4.0 (creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0). This block is kept separate from our own text.
Is the oleander hawk-moth endangered?
No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.
How is the oleander hawk-moth classified?
- kingdomAnimalia
- phylumArthropoda
- classInsecta
- orderLepidoptera
- familySphingidae
- genusDaphnis
- SpeciesDaphnis nerii Linnaeus, 1758
Synonyms Daphnis bipartita, Daphnis confluens, Daphnis infernelutea, Daphnis nigra, Deilephila bipartita, Deilephila nerii, Sphinx nerii, Sphynx nerii
Other names and names in other languages (38)
- Army green mothEnglish
- Oleander hawk mothEnglish
- عثة خضراء جيشيةArabic
- عثة الصقر الدفلىArabic
- Олеандрова вечерницаBulgarian
- ড্যাফনিস নেরিBangla
- Gwalch-Wyfyn RhoswyddWelsh
- Gwalch-Wyfynod RhoswyddWelsh
- NeriesværmerDanish
- NeriumssværmerDanish
- OleandersværmerDanish
- OleanderschwärmerGerman
- Σφίγγα της πικροδάφνηςGreek
- Polilla Esfinge de las AdelfasSpanish
- oleandrisuruEstonian
- oleanterikiitäjäFinnish
- Sphinx du laurier-roseFrench
- Sphinx du Laurier-rose (Le)French
- רפרף ההרדוףHebrew
- Oleandrov ljiljakCroatian
- oleanderszenderHungarian
- Sfinge dell'oleandroItalian
- キョウチクトウスズメJapanese
- Oleandrinis sfinksasLithuanian
- ഇലയമ്പൻMalayalam
- oleandersvermerNorwegian Bokmål
- OleanderpijlstaartDutch
- oleandersvermarNorwegian Nynorsk
- Zmrocznik oleandrowiecPolish
- Бражник олеандровийRussian
- Бражник олеандровыйRussian
- Lišaj oleandrovýSlovak
- oleandrovecSlovenian
- oleandersvärmareSwedish
- มอธเหยี่ยวลายทหารเขียวThai
- Zakkum AtmacagüvesiTurkish
- 夾竹桃天蛾Chinese
- 粉綠白腰天蛾Chinese
Relatives of the oleander hawk-moth
Other species in the same genus Daphnis.
CompareOleander hawk-moth vs Daphnis dohertyiOleander hawk-moth vs Daphnis hayesiOleander hawk-moth vs Daphnis hypothousOleander hawk-moth vs Daphnis kitchingi
Common questions
Each answer is written from the sourced facts on this page, and only where they hold the answer.
What kind of animal is the oleander hawk-moth?
The oleander hawk-moth is an insect in the butterflies and moths subgroup. It belongs to the family Sphingidae in the order Lepidoptera.
What is the scientific name of the oleander hawk-moth?
The scientific name of the oleander hawk-moth is Daphnis nerii, placing it in the genus Daphnis.
Who named the oleander hawk-moth and when?
The oleander hawk-moth was named by Linnaeus, 1758.
What other names does the oleander hawk-moth have?
The oleander hawk-moth is also called the Army green moth and the Oleander hawk moth.
What family does the oleander hawk-moth belong to?
The oleander hawk-moth belongs to the family Sphingidae, within the superfamily Bombycoidea. Its subfamily is Macroglossinae and its tribe is Macroglossini.
What is the full classification of the oleander hawk-moth?
The oleander hawk-moth is in kingdom Animalia, phylum Arthropoda, class Insecta and order Lepidoptera. It belongs to family Sphingidae and genus Daphnis.
Is the oleander hawk-moth an invasive species?
The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the oleander hawk-moth as introduced in 1 country: Japan, but does not flag it as invasive in any of them.
What eats the oleander hawk-moth?
Animals recorded preying on the oleander hawk-moth include house sparrow. The records are compiled by Global Biotic Interactions from published studies; each pair is reported by at least two datasets.
Sources and how to cite this page
Data as of 2026-11-14. How this page is put together.
- Catalogue of Life eXtended Release · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-10-16 XR
Catalogue of Life (2026). Catalogue of Life eXtended Release, version 2026-10-16 XR. Catalogue of Life Foundation, Amsterdam, Netherlands. https://doi.org/10.48580/dgzlf - Wikimedia Commons · per file (CC0 / public domain / CC BY green, CC BY-SA amber, anything else not displayed) · 2026-11-11
Wikimedia Commons contributors. Wikimedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org (each file credited to its author under its own licence). - Global Biotic Interactions (GloBI): interpreted data products · CC0 1.0 · 0.11
Poelen, J.H., Simons, J.D. & Mungall, C.J. (2014) Global Biotic Interactions: an open infrastructure to share and analyze species-interaction datasets. Ecological Informatics 24: 148–159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecoinf.2014.08.005. Data: https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22691479, with each record's original reference. - Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (GRIIS) · CC BY 4.0 · 2026-11-13
Pagad, S., Genovesi, P., Carnevali, L., Schigel, D. & McGeoch, M.A. (2018) Introducing the Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species. Scientific Data 5: 170202. https://doi.org/10.1038/sdata.2017.202. Country checklists published through GBIF by the IUCN SSC Invasive Species Specialist Group. - TraitCH: a multi-taxa functional trait dataset for Switzerland and Europe · CC BY 4.0 · 2.0
Chauvier, Y., Adde, A., Bergamini, A. et al. (2025) TraitCH: a multi-taxa functional trait dataset for Switzerland and Europe. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.15063844 - Wikidata · CC0 1.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikidata contributors. Wikidata. https://www.wikidata.org (data retrieved via the Wikidata Query Service). - Wikipedia (English) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · 2026-11-11
Wikipedia contributors. Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. https://en.wikipedia.org (text under CC BY-SA 4.0; each block names its article and revision).
Embed a card for this animal on your own site
Copy this code. The card shows the photo with its credit, key facts and a link back to this page.
CreatureData. (2026). Oleander hawk-moth (Daphnis nerii). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/oleander-hawk-moth
“Oleander hawk-moth (Daphnis nerii).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/oleander-hawk-moth.
@misc{oleander_hawk_moth_2026,
title = {Oleander hawk-moth (Daphnis nerii)},
author = {{CreatureData}},
year = {2026},
url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/oleander-hawk-moth},
note = {Data as of 2026-11-14}
}