Zeuzera pyrina

Leopard moth
Upperside
Lateral view
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Cossidae
Genus:	Zeuzera
Species:	Z. pyrina
Binomial name
Zeuzera pyrina (Linnaeus, 1761)
Synonyms [1]
List Phalaena pyrinaLinnaeus, 1761 Phalaena aesculiLinnaeus, 1767 Zeuzera decipiensKirby, 1892 Noctua hypocasstaniPoda, 1761 Zeuzera hypocastrinaDyar, 1902 Phalaena hilarisGeoffroy in Fourcroy, 1785 Zeuzera octopunctataBoisduval, [1841] Zeuzera pirinaStaudinger, 1879 Zeuzera esculiStaudinger, 1895 Zeuzera pyrina ab. confluaSchultz, 1905 Zeuzera yprinaStichel, 1918 Zeuzera yprina f. paulomaculataStichel, 1918 Zeuzera pyrina ab. confluensCockayne, 1955 Zeuzera pyrina f. marginestriataLempke, 1961 Zeuzera pyriniaEl-Hariri, 1968

Zeuzera pyrina, the leopard moth or wood leopard moth, is a moth of the family Cossidae. ^[2]

It is considered a pest by fruit growers, as the larvae feed on branches of many kinds of fruit trees. Olive trees in particular are very susceptible and can be killed by the larvae burrowing within them.

Subspecies

Subspecies include: ^[3]

• Zeuzera pyrina biebingeri (W. & A. Speidel, 1986)
• Zeuzera pyrina pyrina (Linnaeus, 1761)

Zeuzera biebingeri is treated as a subspecies of Z. pyrina by some sources, but is mostly treated as a valid species. ^[4]

Distribution

This species can be found primarily in Europe (excluding Ireland) ^[5] but also in northern Africa (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco) and Asia (Taiwan, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Korea, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Syria, Turkey). It was introduced into the northeastern United States prior to 1879 and has a range including Maine, Pennsylvania, Tennessee and Texas. ^{[3] [6]}

Habitat

These moths are associated with woodland, gardens and orchards. ^[7]

Description

Zeuzera pyrina has a wingspan of 35–60 millimetres (1.4–2.4 in). ^[7] They are a highly distinctive species. The length of the abdomen of the female is about 45–50 millimetres (1.8–2.0 in). The male is slightly smaller than the female, with broader and more feathery antennae. ^[8] These moths have a white head, with a black forehead and a very furry white thorax marked with six black spots. The abdomen is black, with short white hair-like scales on the posterior edge of each segment and a flat brush of scales on the apex. Forewings are whitish, long and narrow, with numerous black spots or black spots with white interior spots, arranged in rows along the veins. Hindwings are translucent, except in the anal area, with small black spots. They have an average wingspan of about 35–60 millimetres (1.4–2.4 in). Their antennae are bipectinate and wide at their base, but narrow near their tips, especially in males. ^[8]

Biology

The moth flies from June to September depending on the location. The caterpillars are xylophagous . They feed on the wood of various deciduous trees and shrubs ^[7] (see list below), feeding internally for two or three years in the stems and branches before emerging to pupate under the bark. They can be a pests in fruit production. ^[9]

Recorded host plants

Recorded food plants include: ^[6]

• Acer
• Aesculus
• Amelanchier
• Broussonetia
• Carya
• Castanea
• Celtis
• Ceratonia
• Cotoneaster
• Crataegus
• Cydonia
• Fagus
• Fraxinus
• Ilex
• Juglans
• Ligustrum
• Liquidambar
• Liriodendron
• Lonicera
• Malus
• Olea
• Prunus
• Punica
• Pyrus
• Quercus
• Rhododendron
• Ribes
• Robinia
• Rubus
• Salix
• Syringa
• Tilia
• Ulmus
• Viburnum

Gallery

• 
  Egg-laying
• 
  Caterpillar in a stem of an apple tree.
• 
  Exuvia
• 
  Moth

Bibliography

• Skinner, Bernard (1984). Colour Identification Guide to Moths of the British Isles. Viking Press. p. 3. ISBN   0-670-80354-5.
• Waring, Paul; Townsend, Martin (2003). Field Guide to the Moths of Great Britain and Ireland. British Wildlife Publishing. p. 22. ISBN   0-9531399-2-1.
• Capinera, J. L. (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Entomology, 4 vol., 2nd Ed., Dordrecht, Springer Science+Business Media B.V., 2008, pp. lxiii + 4346, ISBN   978-1-4020-6242-1, LCCN 2008930112, OCLC 837039413.
• Lieutier F., Day K. R., Battisti A., Grégoire J.-C. and Evans H. F. (Eds.), Bark and Wood Boring Insects in Living Trees in Europe, a Synthesis, ristampa 1ª ed., Dordrecht; Boston, Springer; Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2007 [2004], pp. xiv, 569, ISBN   978-1-4020-2240-1, LCCN 2004051536, OCLC 55645086.
• Scoble, M. J., The Lepidoptera: Form, Function and Diversity, 2nd ed., London, Oxford University Press & Natural History Museum, 2011 [1992], pp. xi, 404, ISBN   978-0-19-854952-9, LCCN 92004297, OCLC 25282932.
• Stehr, F. W. (Ed.), Immature Insects, 2 vol., Dubuque, Iowa, Kendall/Hunt Pub. Co., 1991 [1987], pp. ix, 754, ISBN   978-0-8403-3702-3, LCCN 85081922, OCLC 13784377.

References

1. GBIF
2. Catalogue of Life
3. Fauna Europaea
4. Yakovlev, R.V., 2011: Catalogue of the Family Cossidae of the Old World. Neue Entomologische Nachrichten, 66: 1-129.
5. "Zeuzera pyrina (Linnaeus, 1761". Fauna Europaea. Retrieved 29 June 2018.
6. Timber Pests of PQ Significance Phytosanitary Solutions at the Wayback Machine.
7. Kimber, Ian. "50.002 BF161 Leopard Moth Zeuzera pyrina (Linnaeus, 1761)". UKMoths. Retrieved 6 August 2020.
8. Sourakov, Andrei; Chadd, Rachel Warren (2022). The Lives of Moths: A Natural History of Our Planet's Moth Life. Princeton University Press. p. 276. ISBN   978-0-691-22856-3.
9. Ford, R.L.E. (1963). The Observer's Book of Larger Moths. London: Frederick Warne. p. 219.

External links

• Lepiforum e. V.
• De Vlinderstichting (in Dutch)
• Paolo Mazzei, Daniel Morel, Raniero Panfili Moths and Butterflies of Europe and North Africa