(Photo by Hugh Main.)]
Of the eighty-six Palaearctic species referred to this family, by far the
larger number are eastern, only about eight appear to be found in Europe,
and but three of these occur in Britain.
Meyrick separates _Cossus cossus_ (_ligniperda_) from our other two
species, adopts _Trypanus_, Rambur, as the generic name, and removes it to
the Tortricina as a family of that group under the name Trypanidae.
THE GOAT MOTH (_Cossus cossus_ (_ligniperda_)).
The English name of this species (Plate 150, Figs. 1 [male], 2 [female])
applies more especially to the caterpillar, as this creature gives off an
odour which has been compared to that of the he-goat. In general colour the
caterpillar is pinkish ochreous, {348} inclining to dark reddish on the
back; the small head is black and glossy, and the mark on the first ring of
the body is black. It feeds in the solid wood of various trees, especially
elm, ash, and willow, but is three or four years in completing growth. When
mature, it often leaves its burrow and wanders in search of a suitable
place for pupation. When met with at such times it should be, if taken,
placed in a roomy tin box with a good supply of sawdust or decayed wood,
when it will make its cocoon, and appear as a moth in due course. The early
stages are shown on Plate 151.
Caterpillars are more likely to come under the notice of the country
rambler than are the moths; examples of the latter, however, may be seen
occasionally, in June or July, resting on a tree-trunk, a fence, or a gate
post; sometimes, although practically tongueless, the moth visits the sugar
patch and either settles on the tree or flutters around.
The species seems to occur in all parts of the British Isles, except
perhaps the extreme north of Scotland and the Hebrides.
Abroad, the range extends to Amurland and to North-west Africa.
THE LEOPARD MOTH (_Zeuzera pyrina_).
As will be seen from the portraits of this blue-black spotted white species
on Plate 153, the male (Fig. 6) is smaller than the female (Fig. 7); it
will be further noted that the antennae of the male are bi-pectinated on
the basal half, and thread-like on the outer half; the antennae of the
female are thread-like throughout.
[Illustration]
2 Pl. 152.
1. LEOPARD MOTH: _caterpillar_.
2. ORANGE-TAILED CLEARWING: _caterpillar's burrow and exit hole;
chrysalis skin_.
[Illustration]
2 Pl. 153.
1, 2. FESTOON.
3. REED LEOPARD.
4, 5. TRIANGLE.
6, 7. LEOPARD MOTH.
{349} The caterpillar (Plate 152, Fig. 1, from a coloured drawing by Mr. A.
Sich) is dull whitish, more or less tinged with yellow; the spots are
black, and the head and plates on the first and last rings of the body are
blackish brown. It feeds in branches and stems of trees and shrubs.
Hatching from the egg, say in the late summer of 1908, the caterpillar will
not be full grown until May or June of 1910, or possibly 1911; forming a
cocoon of silk and wood particles, it turns to a reddish brown chrysalis in
the burrow, and near the bark of the stem or branch. The moth comes out in
the summer, and is most often seen in the London district, where the female
especially is not infrequently found on tree-trunks or on grass, etc.,
under trees. It visits light, and the electric arc lamps are very
attractive to it.
The species occurs in the south and east of England, and through the
north-west counties to Cheshire. It has been recorded from Cardiff, South
Wales, and doubtfully from Ireland.
Abroad, the range extends to Corea and Japan. In America it seems to be
established in parts of the State of New York.
THE REED LEOPARD (_Phragmataecia castaneae_).
A male of this species (_Macrogaster arundinis_ of some authors) is shown
on Plate 153, Fig. 3. The female is rather larger, with longer body, and
the antennae are without pectinations.
The wrinkled and rather shining caterpillar is ochreous white with
reddish-brown stripes along the back. It feeds low down on the stems of
reed (_Phragmites communis_) and is full grown in the spring of the second
year following that in which it left the egg in late summer. Thus, a
caterpillar hatching in August, 1908, would be mature about May, 1910,
pupate in that month, or the next, and the perfect insect would appear in
June or July.
The moth flies at night, and may be attracted by a brilliant light. The
earliest known British locality for the species was Holme Fen in
Huntingdonshire (1841-1848). In 1850 it was found abundantly at Whittlesea
Mere. Its haunts in the {350} present day are Wicken and Chippenham fens in
Cambridgeshire, but specimens from these localities are somewhat smaller
than the old Hunts examples. Barrett states that he put down some eggs of
the species in Ranworth Fen, Norfolk, and that five years later two males
were captured within a short distance of the spot where the eggs had been
placed.
The range abroad extends to China and Japan.