in the Larva State, iipon the Wood of Trees. 



467 



Zeuzk^ra iE'scuLi Latreille: fig. 75.; a, the larva; b, the imago, male. 

 The Wood Leopard Moth. 



Classification. Linnaean order, Lepidoptera ; section, Nocturna Latreille. 

 Natural order in Newman's system, Cossites: in Eiit. Mag., ii. p. 383. 



Etymology. Zeuzera : I have not been able to discover the meaning of 

 this. ./E'sculi is in expression of the fact that the species feeds upon the 

 wood of the ^"sculus Hippocastanum, or horsechestnut tree, although this is 

 but one of several sorts of trees upon which it feeds : see below. Wood 

 Leopard Moth, a kind of moth that is spotted like a leopard, and passes its 

 larva and pupa state in wood. 



The following information on the person and habits of this species is com- 

 piled chiefly from contributions to the Magazine of Natural History, by Andrew 

 Mathews (vol. ii. p. 66, 67.); G. H. (vol. ii. p. 210.); and D. G. Kerridge, 

 Ipswich (vol. ii. p. 291,292.); and from 'Renme^s Conspectus of Moths and 

 Butterflies. 



Egg. The female moth lays her eggs upon the body of the tree, during July 

 or August. 



Larva. Fig. 75. a represents a larva of the natural size ; but whether or not 

 the size was that of completed growth is not stated : c, three of the spiracles, 

 or breathing-holes, e in fig. 76. is rather for a diagram to exhibit the posi- 

 tion of the larva, under circumstances to be soon explained, than the larva in 

 its personal characteristics. The larva is of a deep yellow, dotted with black, 

 and has a black head and tail : ii is furnished with powerful jaws. The larva, 

 on being hatched, feeds upon the bark of the tree, but shortly after penetrates 

 the solid wood. The following particulars on one are published in the Ma- 

 gazine of Natural History, vol. ii. p. 66, 67., contributed by Mr. A. Mathews, 

 now a travelling collector of natural objects in South America : — 



" On May 10. 1828, I observed, whilst examining the trunk of a pear tree 

 in my garden, at between 4 ft. and 5 ft. from the ground, a substance resem- 

 bling decayed sawdust, apparently protruding from beneath the bark, of about 

 the size of a small pea. Upon removal, I found that the bark had been per- 

 forated by some insect ; and, on removing some of the bark, I was enabled to 

 trace the course taken by the insect, which may be better explained by the 

 assistance of the annexed sketch, {fig. 76.) The insect, upon entering the 

 bark at a, appeared to have taken a downward direction, as the cavity was 

 not more than an eighth of an inch sunk into the wood till reaching b, where 

 it was rather more than three eighths, and partly filled with the excrement of 

 the larva : at c, the cavity began gradually to approach towards the centre 

 of the tree, and take a regular shape, and contiiuied at about half an inch in 

 diameter to d; the distance from b to d being 1 H in. : from d to the circum- 

 ference of the tree was Ii in. When the whole cavity was exposed, the larva 

 appeared as at e, with its head upwards." 



On the length of time in which Zeuzera aj'sculi continues in the larva state, 

 I find the following information, which is not conclusive : — G. H. (Mag. Nat. 

 Hist., vol. ii. p. 210.) had, on March 5. 1829, four larvas from a quince tree, 

 two apparently fully grown, and two half-grown; and has concluded, hence, 



M M 4 



