420 GOSSUS. By Dr. A. Seitz. 



and beginning of July. As the larva gnaws its way through cardboard and wood, it should be kept in tins 

 or glass jars which are closed by wire-gauze; the larvae cannot climb up the sides of the glass, but can very 

 cleverly constioict a ladder of silk. As the catei-pillars require a large amount of moisture, it is advisable to 

 put mto the glass an apjjle as well as the wood and sawdust. As regards the wood to be given we have a 

 large range of species from which to chose. Willows and poplar are most favoured by them, but in some places 

 I also foiuid very old oaks riddled with holes, A^ith nimibers of pupal shells protruding from the holes. Frings 

 found the larva in a Japanese Paulownia, and birches are also often attacked. The larva is al.so frequently 

 injurious to apple and ash. Sometimes, moreover, the pupa-shells are found projecting from holes in conifers, 

 in which case we must assume that the lai-va did not feed in this tree but bored into it for pupation, as they 

 often leave the original tree for that purpose. A tree mhabited by cossus has a characteristic odour which 

 renders it easy to detect the presence of the borer. 



ierehra. C. terebra F. (53 d). Similar to the preceding, especially to the forms from Western Asia and the 



Balkan Peninsula, but the han of the thorax and abdomen more shaggy, the collar also grey, not silky, wings 

 more minutely striated, the fore wing darker m the basal half, lighter in the outer half, more uniform in colour, 

 not watered, the hmdwing uniformly light grey. Distinguished e.specially by the (^-antenna, which has much 

 longer pectinations than any form of cossus, and by the abdomen which is uniformly gre3' without bands above. 

 — In Eastern and Southern Germany, but only as an advanced post and quite singly (the localities Uerdiiigen, 

 Berlm, etc , are probably erroneous), more abundant in the Tyrol, at the Danube, in Russia, at the Volga, 

 from Finland to Switzerland and from Digne ( i) to Eastern Siberia, very sporadical and locally rare. Larva 

 dirty light grey with a brown head and brownish yellow nuchal plate, full-gro^\T^ in IMay, in Populus tremula, 

 also m other species of poplar. Pupa dark bro^vTl, abdomen yellowish brown ventrally; three tubercles on the 

 head. 

 colossus. C. colossus Stgr., from the Tianshan, is at once distinguishable by its enormous size; even the ^ 



is considerabl}- larger than the $ of cossus and rivals specimens of the ^ of the gigantic Duomitus leuconotus, 

 which it also resembles in the type of colouring, especially the light coloured margin of the forewing. But 

 it is at once distmguished from Duomitus by the regularly pectinate antennae, Duomitus having antennae 

 similar to those of our Zeuzera, which ai'c plumose proximally and naked, setiform, distally. 5^| 



bohatschi. C. bohatschi Piing. (53 b). Considerably smaller than the preceding forms. Externally resembles 



Holcocerus consobrinus, but was placed with Cossus on account of the longer lamellae of the antennae. Upper- 

 side grey, almost entirely unicolorous, striated as in C. coss^i^, collar of the same colour as the thorax, but 

 with light edges. ■ — From Issyk-kul and Hi. The $ is considerably larger than the (J. 



stertzi. C. stertzi Piing. (53 b). This species differs from all other Cosstis in the sand-coloured ground-colour 



M'ith only slight traces of markmgs. Among other sand-coloured Cossids \\hioh Ikno\\' onh* Holcocerus sericetis 

 and difjicilis are of the same size; these are, however, sprinkled with bright brown; Cossus intractatus, 

 which is dusted with grey and, as Herr Pcngeler suggests, is fomided on a worn specimen of Hypopta 

 turcomanicM; Dyspessa bipunctaki, which is also sand-coloiu", is usually smaller. — From the steppes of 

 Anterior Asia: Merv. 



tapinus. C. tapinus Piing. (53 a). Like the preceding in size, the wings broad from the base, the apex of the 



forewing less obtuse, inner angle roimded; mouse-grey, slightly watered with a lighter shade, beyond the 

 centre a few darker and more prominent irregular transverse striae. Collar like the thorax in colour; the latter 

 and the conspicuously long abdomen clothed with dense shaggy hair, and thereby easily distmguished from 

 the smaller modestus. ■ — From Merv and Askhabad. Our figure is taken from the tj'pein coll. Pungeler, which 

 was kindly placed at our disposal. 

 modesius. C. modestus Stgr. (53 a). Still smaller than the preceding, and therefore the smallest Cossus, as 



long as this genus is kept separate from the next one. Li colour and markings almost exactly like tapinus, with 

 the scales smaller, the abdomen not flat, but more conical, more pointed, with the hair more appressed. — 

 From the Tianshan and Hi district. 



acronyc- C. acronyctoides Moore (52 h). Undoubtedly closely allied to the preceding species and probably 



ioides. only the Indian representative of one of them; markmgs veiy like those of a small terebra, but also almost 

 exactly similar to those of various Holcocerus, e. g. vicarius and consobrinus. The lamellae of the (j'-antemia 

 strong, the species being regarded as a tvne Cossus on account of this; but the character probably only means 

 that it uihabits wooded covmtry and not the steppes. It Ls distributed in Anterior India; Palearctic spemuiens 

 are somewhat lighter grey than Indian ones from the NUgiris and were separated as a distinct species under 

 cashmiren- the name of cashmirensis Moore. Ganjan, Cashmir. 



aries. C. aries Piing. (53 b). More strongly divergent from the type of Cossus than any other species. White 



with broATO smears and mmute but sharp striae on the forewing, hindwuig bro^^^lisll grey with the base light. 

 The chief characteristic is the broad antenna with very long pectinations, similar ones occurring only mC. co- 

 lossus. The tj^pe (from with our figure was taken) in coll. Pungeler came from Jerusalem; but the species 

 seems to be wideh' distributed. A very large o now before me is from Tmiis, and one with rather dark markings 

 from Biskra in Algeria. All three specimens are different on the miderside, the Syrian one being blackish grey with 



