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STRANGE DWELLINGS . 
fied a burrow as the common Goat Moth ( Cossus ligniperdc :). 
This insect is far more plentiful than is generally supposed, but 
as in its larval and pupal state it is deeply buried in some tree 
trunk, and in its perfect condition seldom ventures to fly by day, 
not one in a thousand is ever seen by the eye of man. This 
moth breeds in several trees, such as the willow, the oak, and 
the poplar, the first-mentioned tree seeming to be its chief 
favourite. Kent is one of the counties wherein this moth is 
found in greatest profusion, and in the fields round my house 
there is scarcely a willow of any size which has escaped the 
ravages of the Goat Moth caterpillar. 
The larva of the Goat Moth derives its name from the very 
powerful and rank odour which it exhales, and which is thought 
to resemble that of the he-goat. This odour is not only strong 
but enduring, and for several years after the insect has vacated 
its burrow the disagreeable scent is plainly perceptible. I have 
now before me some specimens of the burrow of this creature, 
and although a very long time has evidently elapsed since the 
larvae inhabited them, their odour is quite strong, and can be 
perceived at a distance of several feet. The pocket in which I 
placed them, after removing them from the tree, has never lost 
a rank reminiscence of its contents. 
The larva is by no means a prepossessing creature, either to 
the eye or the nostrils, and though some persons believe that it 
was the famous Cossus, or tree-grub of the Romans, which was 
thought so great a delicacy by the ancients, I cannot believe 
that any palate could have attained so very artificial a condition 
as to endure this repulsive creature, much less to consider it as 
a dainty. 
It grows with wonderful rapidity, being when it has reached 
its full size seventy-two thousand times heavier than when it 
was hatched ; its segments are deeply marked, and in colour it 
is of a mahogany-red above, and yellowish below. The whole 
surface is smooth and polished, and, as may be presumed, con- 
sidering the life which it leads, its muscular strength is enormous. 
Not only are the large and trenchant jaws extremely thick and 
strong, but the development of muscle is singularly great ; and 
