Zeuzera pyrina

Leopard Moth
Zeuzera pyrina
Scientific classification
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Cossidae
Genus: Zeuzera
Species: Z. pyrina
Binomial name
Zeuzera pyrina
(Linnaeus, 1761)
Synonyms
  • Phalaena pyrina Linnaeus, 1761
  • Phalaena aesculi Linnaeus, 1767
  • Zeuzera decipiens Kirby, 1892
  • Noctua hypocasstani Poda, 1761
  • Zeuzera hypocastrina Dyar, 1902
  • Phalaena hilaris Geoffroy in Fourcroy, 1785
  • Zeuzera octopunctata Boisduval, [1841]
  • Zeuzera pirina Staudinger, 1879
  • Zeuzera esculi Staudinger, 1895
  • Zeuzera pyrina ab. conflua Schultz, 1905
  • Zeuzera yprina Stichel, 1918
  • Zeuzera yprina f. paulomaculata Stichel, 1918
  • Zeuzera pyrina ab. confluens Cockayne, 1955
  • Zeuzera pyrina f. marginestriata Lempke, 1961
  • Zeuzera pyrinia El-Hariri, 1968

The Leopard Moth or Wood Leopard Moth (Zeuzera pyrina) is a moth of the family Cossidae.[1] It is found primarily in Europe but also in northern Africa (Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco) and Asia (Taiwan, India, Iran, Iraq, Israel, Japan, Korea, Lebanon, Sri Lanka, Syria, Turkey).[2] It was introduced into the northeastern United States prior to 1879 and has a range extending from Maine to Pennsylvania.

This is a highly distinctive species with a very furry white thorax marked with six black spots and heavily spotted white wings. The wingspan is 35–60 mm. The moth flies from June to September depending on the location.

The caterpillars feed on various deciduous trees and shrubs (see list below), feeding internally for two or three years in the stems and branches before emerging to pupate under the bark. It can be a pest of fruit production.

Recorded food plants

Subspecies

Zeuzera biebingeri is treated as a subspecies of Z. pyrina by some sources, but is mostly treated as a valid species.[3]

General references

References

  1. "Leopard Moth Zeuzera pyrina". UKMoths. Retrieved 2011-12-19.
  2. phytosanitarysolution.com: Timber Pests of PQ Significance in India
  3. Yakovlev, R.V., 2011: Catalogue of the Family Cossidae of the Old World. Neue Entomologische Nachrichten, 66: 1-129.