Cossus cossus
Goat Moth ( Cossus cossus )
The Goat Moth ( Cossus cossus ) is a butterfly (moth ) from the family of wood borers ( Cossidae ).
- 5.1 Notes and references
- 5.2 Literature
Features
The moths reach a wingspan of 65 to 80 millimeters and have a plump physique, where the females are thicker and larger than the males. They have light gray wings on which a dark gray mottling or lines are drawn. In addition, parts of the wings are brownish in color. The coloration mimics tree bark. You have only vestigial proboscis, so that they can not feed.
The caterpillars are about 100 mm long and have a broad dark-red back and a yellow body else. Her head and part of the neck plate is colored black. You have scattered, short white hair and the body is very shiny.
Occurrence
One finds the moth where old willows so on running water, on lawns, in parks or rarely even in mixed forests. The distribution area extends across Europe, North Africa and the temperate regions of Asia. In the Alps, they occur up to an altitude of 1,500 meters. They are widespread and common.
Way of life
Flight times and caterpillars
The nocturnal moths fly from late May to early August, the caterpillar enters from August to May, where they wintered two to four times.
Food of the caterpillars
The caterpillars feed on various deciduous trees, but have a preference for goat willow (Salix caprea ) and other willows, silver birch (Betula pendula), alder ( Alnus glutinosa), pear (Pyrus communis) and apple (Malus domestica).
Development
After mating, the females lay their eggs singly or in small groups in columns from cattle. In general, sick or already dead trees are preferred. After hatching, eat and live caterpillars in the bark of the trees until they have several times skinned. Later, they then penetrate deeper into the wood, and through them from top to bottom with their transitions. They have an oval cross-section and up to two inches wide. By feeding it may happen that the trees die, this is especially the case with an infestation of several beads. Older caterpillars smell strongly of vinegar, you can also this smell around the infected plant smell. After two to four years of their development has been completed. Pupation takes place in several ways. Either the caterpillar leaves her tree in autumn and buries itself in the ground, where they pupate until after the winter, or they wintered in the tree and digs after overwintering in the soil a. It also happens that they pupate at the end of their feeding path in the tree, this being done in this case in an approximately six inches wide, made of spun yarns and nage chips cocoon.