The awareness of a particular image continually showing up began about a year ago, when I was repeatedly borrowing my daughter’s hoodie. Whenever I was at her house I found myself reaching for it, as it was roomy and cozy and I was drawn to what I thought (at the time) was a butterfly pictured on the back of it. I don’t know how many times I had worn it before I actually took a good look at the graphic and realized it was a Death’s-head Hawkmoth on the back.

Since that time, these depictions seem to be popping up into my awareness rather regularly, a visual type of Baader-Meinhof Phenomenon, or “frequency illusion.”

I had stumbled upon an attractive vintage 1901 image, which took me down a rabbit hole of lovely antique renderings.

A little bit about these moths – the condensed version anyway; we won’t be seeing any of these in the United States. The African Death’s-head Hawkmoth (Acherontia atropos) is native to Africa and found in the Mediterranean region, Middle East, Southern Europe, Asia, and the British Isles. They will migrate to northern areas during the warmer months.

It has a wingspan that can be as large as five inches and a distinctive pattern on its thorax that resembles a human skull – thus the name. The larvae (I think they are rather wild-looking in a vivid, swizzle-stick sort of way) favor tomato and potato plants, deadly nightshade, lilac, jasmine and privet, and supposedly even cannabis. The moths are fond of nectar and honey and will raid beehives for it. They can mask their own odor and mimic the scent of the bees, thus disguised in order to enter the hive. Pretty tricky!

Oh – and when they are stressed out or feel threatened, they make a squeaking noise by inhaling and expelling air from their pharynx through their mouth and reedy proboscis, creating a vibration, sort of like a tiny accordion. I went in search of some recordings to hear them squeaking, and indeed they do! If you are interested, I urge you to look that up yourself – it’s sort of freaky. I had no idea….

The females are larger than the males, the males have fancier wing coloring. They have a lifespan of about six weeks.

So these moth visuals have been coming on strong and in unexpected places. Recently I stopped by a neighbor’s place to attend an open house art show. While there, I met her interesting daughter, whose throat was adorned with a striking Death’s-head Hawkmoth tattoo-in-progress.

And just recently, a friend created and sold this beautifully intricate moth necklace made up of the tiniest glass Delica beads.

With such a mysterious vibe, it feels as if the Death’s-head Hawkmoth should be adorning oracle cards, doesn’t it? So I went looking for that and found this Five of Cups tarot card. Oddly enough (or not), it turns out it was created by a woman I have corresponded with in the past concerning her beautiful crow-related art. More connections….

This one is from an attractive nature oracle deck I could not help but purchase.

I guess if one wanted to read more into all of it, you could wax suspicious and say that this ongoing visual leitmotif of hawkmoths might be a harbinger of something not-so-great to come, a bad omen. Because of the mystical-looking skull image, they have historically been highlighted in supernatural and horror movies, giving an air of the otherworldly and a portent of misfortune. I don’t see them that way, instead finding the Death’s-head Hawkmoth both fascinating and beautiful, and maybe even a tiny bit magical in its striking strangeness. Perhaps the frequent appearance or awareness of such is actually a good sign, one of transition or transformation. I prefer to run with that premise!

I finally bought my own moth hoodie and wore it this past week while on a brief jaunt away. Meandering through a row of tourist shops, I wandered into a rather eclectic store that was selling smoking paraphernalia, some goth-style jewelry, and an incongruous assortment of dayglo plastic items. The walls and shelves were covered with glass cases that contained framed specimens of beetles, bats, moths and butterflies from throughout the world – including an actual African Death’s-head Hawkmoth. There it was again!

Somehow, seeing the real moth felt like a possible culmination. I don’t know if this recurrent theme will continue, or if that might have been the finale of Death’s-head moth appearances for a while. In any case, it’s been an interesting run of observances.

~*~