March 1895.] 



INJURIOUS INSECTS AND FUNGI. 



305 



chestnut, willow, poplar, and some authorities say the larch and 

 Scotch fir ; but the elm, poplar, and willow are its favourite 

 resorts, because their wood is comparatively soft and has much 

 pith. Oaks, however, are often infested and seriously damaged 

 by the action of the Goat Moth caterpillars, which are able 

 with their powerful jaws to bore into the closest grained wood. 

 Fruit trees, such as apples, pears, plum, damson, cherry, and 

 walnut trees, are often materially injured by them. 



From 70 to 300 of these caterpillars have been found in a 

 single tree, and in these circumstances the tree soon decays and 

 dies. Besides the direct harm occasioned by the caterpillars, 

 the wet gets in througli the holes made by them, causing the 

 wood to rot ; and wood-lice and other insects are harboured in 

 the decaying substance. An apple tree, which was evidently 

 dying, was recently examined, and many holes were found in the 

 trunk and branches. When it was cut down nearly 00 cater- 

 pillars were taken from it. Elm trees, as mentioned above, 

 being naturally brittle, suffer much from this insect, the 

 tunnellings of the caterpillars often cause the limbs to snap 

 off in windy weather. In the Bois de Boulogne, near Paris, 

 some years ago, the elms were greatly injured by the cater- 

 pillars of this moth, and lately in Brussels and other cities of 

 Belgium, the elms by the sides of the streets have suffered 

 considerably from this pest. 



The Goat Moth is found in most European countries. An insect 

 of almost identical habits, known as the " Oak Carpenter worm " 

 {Prionoxystus rohinice), is most destructive to some trees in 

 America. 



Life History. 



The Goat Moth belongs to the family Zeuzeridce of the group 

 Bombycina, being one of the largest and most handsome of 

 the British Moths. It measures from 2J to 3 inches across the 

 wings, and is inches in length of body. The female is rather 

 larger than the male, and in some specimens the female is 

 rather darker in colour. 



The head of the moth is reddish brown, and the antennae are 

 most distinctly pectinated in both sexes, but in the female the 

 pectinations are shorter than in the male. The thorax is rusty 

 brown, the abdomen is grey with tufts of whitish scales trans- 

 versely arranged upon the segments. The fore- wings are ashy 

 grey with delicate white and brown waterings, while the hind- 

 wings are rather darker, becoming lighter towards the hinder 

 margin, and having transverse brownish markings. The legs 

 are dark coloured. 



Appearing in June and July, the moth may be discovered on 

 palings, posts, and the trunks of trees with its wings folded 

 close round its body, though by reason of its brownish grey 

 colour it is difficult to distinguish it. As it is a night flyer, it 

 can rarely be seen on the wing. 



O 85876. C 



