GOAT MOTH. 291 



long, with rings of spines on the abdomen, in a cocoon spun 

 up of chips of wood. 



The caterpillars live in the wood of broadleaved trees. 



1. Cossus ligniperda, Fabr. (Goat Moth). 

 a. Description. 



Moth with a spread of wing of 65 to 70 mm. ( $ ) 80 to 

 85 mm. ( ? ). Body stout; head and neck covered with yel- 

 lowish-grey hair ; fore-wings marbled with greyish-brown and 

 light grey, with numerous dark brown transverse lines ; hind- 

 wings ashy grey, or greyish-brown. Abdomen long and thick, 

 of the same colour as the wings, with whitish marginal rings 

 to the segments. 



Caterpillar 90 to 95 mm. long, with 16 legs, at first reddish- 

 yellow, and later cherry-red, darker above, with a brown head, 

 and brown shield on the prothoracic segment ; it possesses a 

 very offensive smell. Pupa stout, reddish-brown, with rings 

 of sharp spines on the abdominal segments. 



I). Life -history . 



The moth emerges in June and July. 



The ? lays her eggs, up to 25 in number, in a cluster deep 

 in cracks in the bark of willows and other broadleaved trees. 



The caterpillar hatches in July, and bores into the wood, in 

 which, or sometimes in the ground, it pupates in May of the 

 third or fourth year in a large stiff cocoon with a smooth 

 interior made of particles of wood roughly spun together. 

 The moth appears 3 to 4 weeks later. 



Generation, 2 or 3 years. Found throughout Great Britain 

 and generally common, at least in the south. 



c. Relations to the Forest. 



The caterpillars live chiefly in the wood of willows, but also 

 of poplars, alder, elm, oak, birch, lime, fruit-trees, even the 

 walnut, and occasionally in Scots pine. They prefer the 

 lower part of the trunk. The mode of attack resembles that 

 of Sesia, but many caterpillars may always be found in the 



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