It is common throughout Europe, Asia, Africa,[3] Australia[4] and New Zealand,[5] partly as a migrant.

This hawkmoth's basic coloration is in grayish tones, but the abdomen has a broad gray dorsal stripe and pink and black bands edged with white on the sides.

[7] Its favourite time is around sunset and during the twilight, when it is seen in gardens hovering over the flowers.

It can be a pest of cultivated Ipomoea batatas (sweet potato or kūmara) in New Zealand and the Pacific.

This species, found mainly in South and Central America, is repeatedly detected on the western shores of Europe.