THE ENTOMOLOGIST 



Vol. XXXVII.l APRIL. 1904. FNo. 491. 



NOTES ON COSSID.E. 



By Ambrose Quail, F.E.S. 



(Plate V.) 



A LOCAL species of Lepidoptera discovered by Mr. Illidge was 

 described as Culama expressa (Cossidae) by Dr. Lucas, of Brisbane, 

 Queensland,* some two years ago. I handed over a pair (male 

 and female) of this species to the collections at South Kensington 

 a few months since, and was informed "it is not a Cossid," but 

 could not learn from the Museum officials why it is not, or what 

 it is ! 



The present writer in not responsible for placing the species 

 among Cossidae, but has some sort of proprietary interest in the 

 moth, having dealt with the habits and structure of its embryo- 

 logical stages in our paper "Australasian Wood-boring Cossidae," f 

 and would be better pleased believing it to be a Cossid. I have 

 been unable to look into the literature of the subject, involving 

 the original diagnosis of the genus Culama (Walk.), but have 

 examined by way of pastime some stray material of Cossidae 

 which was available, and trust my notes thereon will prove of 

 interest to readers, even also of some slight value to systematists. 



Having dealt already with the habits of Cossidae so far as 

 known to us in the above-mentioned paper, I will only say here 

 that anyone knowing C. cossus would consider the larva of 

 Culama expressa to be a Cossid, from its resemblance in shape, 

 colour, and habits to the larva of C. cossus in its first year. At 

 pupation C. expressa prepares a similar cocoon of silk and chips, 

 but the pupa does not seem to bear out the resemblance to cossus. 



Dr. Dyar,t on the classification of lepidopterous larvae, says : — 

 " From a consideration of the first larval stage in conjunction 



- Trans. Linn. Soc. N. S. W. 1902. 



f Roy. Soc. Qusld. Proc. 1903 (Illidge and Quail). 



I New York Acad. Sci. Trans. 1894. 



ENTOM. — APRIL, 1904. K 



