COSSUS. By Dr. A. Seitz. 419 



in closely allied forms, and even in individuals of the same species are not at all impossible. The absence 

 of woods, the ubiquity of the foodplant, the uniformity of the locality may considerably assist the function 

 of the antennae as an organ of search, and thus organs which were originally complicated may become simplified. 

 We are therefore loth to keep Cossus and Holcocerus separate, and only do so in order to avoid anything in 

 our essentially practical work which would disturb the previous arrangements in collections and literature, 

 and render the work more difficult to use. 



C. cossus L. (53c), the well-known Goat-moth. Forewing dark brownish grey, more or less clouded cossus. 

 and suffused with a lighter tone all over, striated and grained with black. Central European specimens are 

 lighter grey, more suffused with brown, and with the collar pale yellow. It is not clear from Linne's de- 

 scription whether he had such a Central European specimen or whether perhaps one of the darker and less 

 watered form occurring in Scandinavia and Lapland was before him, which we figure sm stygianixs Stick. (53 c). stygianus. 

 It is very probable on account of the silky yellowish grey collar and from the fact that Linxe has described 

 very many European moths from Swedish specimens. If this could be proved, it would be advisable to name 

 the Scandinavian form C. cossus L., and the Central European one C. cossus ligniperda F., for Fabeicius's 

 description certainly refers to a specimen of the Central European form, which is typical and abundant especially 

 in Holstem and Denmark. However, all transitions to the ordinary form of cosstis of Germany are found from the 

 North-East to the South of Scandinavia, so that it would be madvisable to separate the Northern form. — The 

 same applies to the Algerian form, which is very common in North Africa wherever there are poplars and wil- 

 lows and has even been observed in South Africa (introduced?). Our figure of a cossus-^ (52c) represents 

 this form, which is distinctly different from the Central European form. Wmgs much more mottled with 

 lead-grey, the black striation continuous, especially conspicuous before the marginal area is a broad straight 

 black line not broken up as in European specimens runnmg from the costa towards the hind-angle; collar of 

 9 nearly always silvery grey, only in a few specimens slightly shot with yellow ; the lamellae of the ^J -antenna 

 much longer, costa of forewing straighter, etc. In spite of these differences the insect should not be given 

 a name, for among the very large number of specimens before me there is also a $ which hardly differs from 

 European specimens, and which I should undoubtedly have considered as European had not I myself caught 

 it at Batna among about a dozen tj^ical North African specimens. — In its distribution from East to West 

 more constant varieties of cossus appear. Of the South Russian form, uralicus subsj). nov. (= volgensis Bartel uralicus. 

 i. I.) (53c) *) I have before me specimens bred by Bartel at Uralsk. The shape of the wings is already dif- 

 ferent, being much less pointed in the ^ than in European specimens, and especially African ones; they are 

 uniformly brown in colour. — In the South of Eastern Europe the form balcanicus Led. (53 b) occurs, which halcanicus- 

 scarcely merits a separate name, being almost exactly like the Swedish Cossus cossus, particularly in size and 

 shape, but the colour is uniformly light grey instead of dark grey. ■ — "Very little different from the last 

 named form is a form from E. Central Asia, M'hich is before me from the Lob-nor from Bartel's collection 

 and very similar specimens of which are also m Pungeler's collection at Aachen. A conspicuous dark shadow 

 in the basal area of the hmdwmg is characteristic. Perhaps the name mongolicus£'rsc/(. (53d) may be saved mongolicus 

 for this form, for Staitdikger and Rebel in their catalogue already point out that this name is erroneously 

 placed under Holcocerus. — Li the case of an Armenian specimen, named araraticus Teich, the author remarks araralicus. 

 that the yellow colour of the collar is entirely superseded by the brown ground-colour ; but the moth appears 

 to be otherwise undoubtedly a cossus with a few Eastern and Southern characters. — The forms hyrcanus hyrcanus. 

 Christ., funkei Rob. and fereidun Gr.-Qrsh. are unknown to me. In the last-named, described from Northern funkei. 

 Persia, the prothorax and abdomen are said to be whitish, forewing white striated with blackish towards the fereidun. 

 margin; the striae form four black bands: one basal, one submarginal and two median converging ones, the 

 space between these two last dusted with blackish. Hmdwing sooty black-brown near the base, lighter at the 

 margin. Anal area clothed with yellowish white hair. Belong perhaps to the aries-groinp. — hyrcanus Christ. 

 The S is described as being greyish white, basal half darker, brown, a stripe interrupted in the middle and 

 the striae dark brown, frmges broad, chequered with a dark colour, then- basal half ochreous brown. Hmd- 

 wing grey. Length of forewing 20 mm. Described from a (J caught at Sharud in May. It is not said in the 

 diagnosis with which form this species is related, and no figure is given, so that it is impossible even to de- 

 termme to which genus the species belongs. — The egg of cossus is comparatively small, hard, rough, yellow 

 at fh-st, brownish later ; it is deposited with the aid of the long ovipositer in crevices of deciduous trees, especially 

 willows and poplar. Larva flesh-colour with black head and brown back, and with very large strong man- 

 dibles. It lives ui wood-mould from July to September, hibernates while rather small, and during the next 

 year bores further tunnels, gnawing the wood mto coarse splinters. The juice of the wood, of which there 

 is very little, is their nourishment, and then- frass is therefore surprisingly small and irregular in shape. When 

 almost fullgrown it hibernates for the second time and in May pupates ia a cocoon made of wood-spUnters pasted 

 together. Pupa dark brown with loam-yellow abdomen shaded with reddish brown; 2 short excrescences 

 on the head; limb-cases very loose. Abdominal segments sharply defmed, with belts of spikes. Moth m June 



*) I alter Bartel's i. 1. name, because there would be two volgensis, if Holcocerus and Cossus should be united, of 

 which one had to be altered as soon as the local form would be raised to the rank of a species. 



