Goat moth

Naming

*"Cossus cossus cossus"
⤷ "Cossus cossus albescens" Kitt, 1925
⤷ "Cossus cossus araraticus" Teich, 1896
⤷ "Cossus cossus armeniacus" Rothschild, 1912
⤷ "Cossus cossus chinensis" Rothschild, 1912
⤷ "Cossus cossus dauricus" Yakovlev, 2007
⤷ "Cossus cossus dersu" Yakovlev, 2009
⤷ "Cossus cossus deserta" Daniel, 1953
⤷ "Cossus cossus gueruenensis" Friedel, 1977
⤷ "Cossus cossus kopetdaghi" Yakovlev, 2009
⤷ "Cossus cossus kossai" Wiltshire, 1957
⤷ "Cossus cossus lucifer" Grum-Grshimailo, 1891
⤷ "Cossus cossus mongolicus" Erschoff, 1882
⤷ "Cossus cossus omrana" Wiltshire, 1957
⤷ "Cossus cossus tianshanus" Hua, Chou, Fang & Chen, 1990
⤷ "Cossus cossus uralicus" Seitz, 1912

Behavior

This is a large heavy moth with a wingspan of 68–96 mm. The wings are greyish brown and marked with fine dark cross lines. The moth flies from April to August depending on the location.

The caterpillars have a red/purple stripe across the back and a black head. They reach a length of 9–10 cm. The caterpillars feed in the trunks and branches of a wide variety of trees, taking three to five years to mature. The caterpillar holes can be found low on the stem. When ready to pupate the caterpillar leaves the tree to find a suitable spot.

The species prefer humid environments.

Food

Pliny reported in "Natural History" that a grub which he gives the name "cossus" was considered a Roman delicacy after it was fed with flour. Some writers have equated this with "Cossus cossus", but Pliny specifies that his "cossus" is found in oak trees, which makes this identification unlikely. Pliny's "cossus" is more likely to have been the larva of the beetle "Cerambyx heros".