DRITISH AXD EUROPEAN BUTTERFLIES AXD MOTHS. 



II 



FAMILY 



COSSIDyE. 



Middle-sized or large moths, with a large 

 convex thorax and a long abdomen, provided 

 with an ovipositor in the female. The fore 

 wings are long and narrow, with the angle 

 somewhat rounded off, and the hind margin 

 rather obliquely curved. The inner margin is 

 concave and deeply indented at the base. 

 The discoidal cell is divided into two to the 

 base. Between these a third cell is interposed, 

 and at the front end of the anterior discoidal 

 cell is an appendicular cell. There are twelve 

 nervures, two of which are submedian. The 

 hind wings are small and triangular, with 

 rounded angles, and a frenulum, simple in the 

 male, but composed of a number of small 

 bristles in the female. The discoidal cell is 

 divided into three. There are eight separate 

 nerA'ures. Both proboscis and ocelli are wanting. 

 The larvas feed in the interior of trees and 

 plants. They are smooth and pale in colour, 

 with short fine hairs, and a dark shining head 

 and cervical plate. The pupae are enclosed 

 in an oval cocoon mixed with shreds of plants 

 and splinters of wood. They are provided 

 with bristles on the abdominal segments, with 

 which they push themselves half out of their 

 hiding-place before the moth emerges. 



Genus Cossus, Fabr. 



Large moths with a thick body and strong 

 wings, witji light or dark transverse spots; the 

 fore wings with an intercolated and an appen- 

 dicular cell. Nervures 5 and 6 of the hind 

 wings rise separate. The hind tibiae have two 

 pairs of spurs. They fly at night. 



C. ligniperda, Fabr. The Goat Moth. 

 PL XVIIL fig. 2. Larva 2a. is common through- 

 out Europe. It appears in June and July, 

 and flies soon after dark, but is rarely seen 

 at liberty except when attracted by sugar. The 

 caterpillar takes three years to reach full growth, 

 and lives in the trunks of willow, poplar, elm, 

 and other trees. It has a peculiar, unpleasant, 

 penetrating odour. The chrysalis is reddish 

 brown, with a yellow abdomen. 



C. terebra, W. \'. Fore wings shorter 

 than in the last species, and with the hinder 

 angle more obtuse, but with nearly similar 

 markings. It is silvery grey, with the two 



transverse lines in front of the hind margin 

 black and further apart, and with numerous 

 black transverse lines in the basal area. There 

 is a dark brown band before the middle, in- 

 stead of a white one. Under side paler, in- 

 distinctly marked. Hind wings pale grey, 

 with indistinct, reticulated markings. Head 

 and thorax dark brown. Abdomen greyish 

 brown. It is a rare species, which occurs in 

 some parts of Germany and Austria. The 

 larva is whitish, with a yellow back and black 

 cervical plate. It lives in the trunks of poplars. 



Genus Zeuzera, Latr. 



Middle-sized moths with long narrow fore 

 wings, having a concave inner margin, and dark 

 roundish spots between the nervures. The 

 hind wings are triangular, with the inner margin 

 much shorter than the hind margin. The 

 discoidal cell of both fore and hind wings is 

 divided into three, each portion extending to 

 the base. The antennae of the males have 

 two rows of slightly clavate serrations from 

 the base to beyond the middle, and from this 

 point to the extremity there is a row of leaf- 

 like processes beneath. The antennae of the 

 females are simple. The abdomen is long. 

 The tibiae are without spurs, except the posterior 

 pair, which are provided with small terminal 

 spurs. The moths fly at night. Only one 

 species is found in Europe. 



Z. aesculi, Linn. The Wood Leopard 

 Moth. PI. XVIII. fig. 3. is widely distributed 

 in Central Europe in July and August. It is 

 found in England, and is not uncommon in 

 and round London, but is rarely seen, as it 

 flies late at night and with great swiftness. 

 The male is much smaller than the female. 

 The larva is yellow, with raised black spots, 

 each bearing a black hair. The cervical 

 plate and the last segment are dark brown, 

 and the head has two black spots. It lives 

 for two years in birch, apple, ash, lime, poplar, 

 or chestnut. The pupa is dark or light brown, 

 wdth a hook-like projection on the front of the 

 head, and fine booklets on the abdominal 

 segments. It rests in a cavity under the bark, 

 behind an opening closed by a web. 



Genus Phragmataecia, Newm. 

 Middle-sized moths with nearly uniformly 



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