- Lifespan
- 3–4 weeks as adults; up to one year from egg to adult
- Size & Weight
- Wingspan 55–65 mm; body length approximately 25–28 mm
- Habitat
- Deciduous and mixed woodlands, parks, gardens, and anywhere with lime, birch, or alder trees.
- UK Distribution
- Widespread and common throughout England, Wales, and southern Scotland; mainly absent from northern Scotland. Resident species, though populations can fluctuate seasonally.
- Diet
- Adult lime hawk-moths do not feed; larvae feed on leaves of lime (linden), birch, alder, and occasionally other broadleaf trees.
- Predators
- Birds, small mammals, parasitic wasps, and tachinid flies (parasitoids of larvae).
- Mating Season
- May to July
- Breeding
- Females lay eggs singly or in small groups on host plant leaves; larvae are solitary and develop through 5 instars over 4–6 weeks; single generation per year.
- Behaviour
- Adults are nocturnal and attracted to light, commonly found at moth traps. They are swift, agile fliers with a characteristic hovering flight. Larvae are cryptic, relying on camouflage to avoid detection.