THE GOAT MOTH. 553 
insects inhabtt, wnffe in the larval state, the interior of branches or roots, 
and make a kina of cocoon from the nibbled fragments of the wood. Just 
before undergoing the transformation, the larva turns round so as to get its 
head towards the entrance of the burrow, and after it has changed into the 
pupal form, 1s able, by means of certain projections on the segments, to push 
itself along until the upper half of the body protrudes through the orifice, 
and permits the perfect moth to make its escape into the open air. 
The wings of this insect are transparent, with orange-red nervures and 
dusky fringes. The head and thorax are shining brown black, with a yellow 
collar, and the abdomen is ringed with orange and dark brown. 
THE well-known GoaT MOTH is, next to the Death’s-head Moth, one of the 
largest of the British Lepidoptera, its body being thick, stout, and massive, 
and its wings wide and spreading. 
GOAT MOTH AND LARVA.—(Cossus ligniperda.) 
The larva itself is but little smaller than that of the Death’s-head Moth, 
and is by no means an attractive-looking creature. Its body is smooth and 
shining, mostly of dull mahogany-red tinged with ochreous yellow, and 
having a large oval patch of chestnut on the back of each segment. It is 
gifted with a curiously wedge-shaped head, and its muscular power is enormous, 
as may be proved by actual experiment during the life of the creature, or 
inferred from the marvellous arrangement of muscles which are made visible 
upon dissection. 
It exudes a liquid of powerful and fetid odour, thought by some to resem- 
le the unpleasant effluvium exhaled by the he-goat. Its influence extends 
to a considerable distance, and a practised entomologist will often detect the 
presence of a Goat-moth caterpillar simply by the aid of the nostrils. 
The caterpillar passes three years in the larval stage of existence, and 
when the time approaches for its change, it ceases to burrow, and scoops out 
