STRANGE DWELLINGS. 



fied a burrow as the common Goat Moth ( Cossus ligniperda). 

 This insect is far more plentiful than is generally supposed, but 

 as in its larval and pupal state it is deeply buried in some tree 

 trunk, and in its perfect condition seldom ventures to fly by day, 

 not one in a thousand is ever seen by the eye of man. This 

 moth breeds in several trees, such as the willow, the oak, and 

 the poplar, the first-mentioned tree seeming to be its chief 

 favourite. Kent is one of the counties wherein this motli is 

 found in greatest profusion, and in the fields round my house 

 there is scarcely a willow of any size which has escaped^ the 

 ravages of the Goat Moth caterpillar. 



The larva of the Goat Moth derives its name from the very 

 powerful and rank odour which it exhales, and which is thought 

 to resemble that of the he-goat. This odour is not only strong 

 but enduring, and for several years after tlie insect has vacated 

 its burrow the disagreeable scent is plainly perceptible. I have 

 now before me some specimens of the burrow of this creature, 

 and although a very long time has evidently elapsed since the 

 larvas inhabited them, their odour is quite strong, and can be 

 perceived at a distance of several feet. The pocket in which T 

 placed them, after removing them from the tree, has never lost 

 a rank reminiscence of its contents. 



The larva is by no means a prepossessing creature, either to 

 the eye or the nostrils, and though some persons believe that it 

 was the famous Cossus, or tree-grub of the Romans, whicli was 

 thought so great a delicacy by the ancients, I cannot believe 

 that any palate could have attained so very artificial a condition 

 as to endure this repulsive creature, much less to consider it as 

 a dainty. 



It grows with wonderful rapidity, being when it has reached 

 its full size seventy-two thousand times heavier than when it 

 was hatched ; its segments are deeply marked, and in colour it 

 is of a mahogany-red above, and yellowish below. The whole 

 surface is smooth and polished, and, as may be presumed, con- 

 sidering the life which it leads, its muscular strength is enormous. 

 Not only are the large and trenchant jaws extremely thick and 

 strong, but the development of muscle is singularly great ; and 



