196 



Wood Leopard Moth. 



Though the moth is called cesculi, from the horse chestnut 

 [sEsculus hippocastanum), it has not been found in England to 

 specially attack horse chestnut trees. In Germany, too, it is 

 called Ross kastanien — that is, of the horse chestnut ; but 

 Kollar remarks that it attacks this tree less frequently than 

 many others. In France it is termed Zeuzere du Marronier — 

 i.e., of the sweet or Spanish chestnut — though there it is also 

 very troublesome to pear, apple, and walnut trees. 



This moth and its caterpillar must not be confounded with 

 the much larger Goat Moth (Cossus lignipcrdi) and its huge 

 caterpillar, whose attack upon fruit trees is precisely similar 

 It sometimes happens that fruit trees are quite killed by the 

 attack of the Zeuzera o?sculi y their trunks and branches being* 

 found full of holes and passages running in all directions. 

 As many as seventy caterpillars have been taken from one 

 apple tree, and there were signs that many more had 

 escaped. 



Life History. 



The Wood Leopard Moth belongs to the family Hepialidce, 

 of the group Bombycina, and flies in the evening, resting 

 inertly during the day-time. The female is larger than the 

 male, sometimes even twice as large, being from 2\ to 2§ inches 

 across the wings, which are light-coloured, almost white, 

 with black or blue-black spots upon them placed here and 

 there without regularity. The spots or markings on the 

 light-coloured hind wings are not so dark-coloured. Upon 

 the upper part of the body, between the wings, there are six 

 blue-black spots in two rows on a whitish ground. The 

 body underneath is dull white or grey, with bands of black. 

 The head of the female is greyish white, and her antennae are 

 merely ordinary feelers without fringes, having tufts of 

 scales at their bases. The male is less brilliant than the 

 female, and has peculiar antennae pectinated or toothed like 

 a comb. 



The female moth flies somewhat heavily and in the 

 evening, resting in the day-time on the trunks of trees, on 

 palings, and other exposed places. The moth appears in 

 June and is seen from then until August. It is remarkable 



