622 SCIENCE PROGRESS 



earlier systematists persisted in placing them in the same 

 tribe as the much more specialised Hawkmoths. These 

 " Clearwing " grubs live in the interior of numerous species 

 of plants : poplars, alders, currants, and even smaller plants, 

 such as the sea-thrift and bird's-foot trefoil, having species 

 attached to them. In many cases the part of the plant occupied 

 is the root, and the large and handsome " Hornet Clearwings " 

 can generally be captured in the districts they inhabit, by 

 watching for their appearance at the base of poplar trunks. 

 On the other hand, the Currant Clearwing, which is no mean 

 foe to this plant in some places, inhabits the upper part of 

 the stem. 



Of the other two families, the Wood Leopard Moth, the 

 Reed Moth, and the Goat Moth, are the only British represen- 

 tatives, but they exhibit the highest development of the wood- 

 boring habit in the Order, the larvae being highly specialised 

 for their existence. Their general form is cylindrical, without 

 the tapering at both ends which is found in most caterpillars, 

 and the divisions between the segments are very strongly 

 marked. Except for a few scattered hairs, they are naked, 

 and to assist in moving through their burrows, the fleshy 

 prolegs, sometimes called " claspers," are coronated, while the 

 head is rather flattened and the jaws are particularly strong. 



In the perfect form, however, all these insects are typically 

 lepidopterous, being well clothed with scales, and, except for 

 the rather unusual length of the abdomen, show no undue 

 deviation from normal families. The Reed Moth, as its name 

 implies, lives in the interior of reeds. It is yellowish, with a 

 brown back and head. The Wood Leopard, so called because 

 both moth and larva are very much spotted, is devoted to 

 more substantial matter, feeding on the wood of various trees, 

 of which apple, willow, mountain ash and, some say, even elm, 

 are examples. Generally speaking, the softer w^oods, particu- 

 larly willow, are preferred by this insect ; but, in any case, its 

 borings are very extensive, and, when the larva is full grown, 

 quite a quarter of an inch in diameter. Its colour is bright 

 yellow, with deep black spots or warts, and it is two years 

 in coming to maturity. 



The most striking and formidable of the group is the 

 Goat Moth, or Cosstts, on account of its great size, the length 

 of its life — it takes three or four seasons to reach maturity 

 — and the serious damage it inflicts on timber. The moth 

 itself is dark brown, very stout-bodied, and expands from 3 

 to 4 inches. It appears about June, and the females deposit 

 their eggs in cracks in the bark of various trees, the hardness 

 of the wood being no bar to attack. I have found the insect 

 frequently in poplars, but quite as commonly in oaks. When 



