The Cossidae, the cossid millers or carpenter millers, make up a

family Family (from la, familia) is a Social group, group of people related either by consanguinity (by recognized birth) or Affinity (law), affinity (by marriage or other relationship). The purpose of the family is to maintain the well-being of its ...

of mostly large miller moths. This family contains over 110 genera with almost 700 known species, and many more species await description. Carpenter millers are

nocturnal Nocturnality is an animal behavior characterized by being active during the night and sleeping during the day. The common adjective is "nocturnal", versus diurnal meaning the opposite. Nocturnal creatures generally have highly developed sens ...

Lepidoptera Lepidoptera ( ) is an order (biology), order of insects that includes butterfly, butterflies and moths (both are called lepidopterans). About 180,000 species of the Lepidoptera are described, in 126 Family (biology), families and 46 Taxonomic r ...

found worldwide, except the

Southeast Asia Southeast Asia, also spelled South East Asia and South-East Asia, and also known as Southeastern Asia, South-eastern Asia or SEA, is the geographical United Nations geoscheme for Asia#South-eastern Asia, south-eastern region of Asia, consistin ...

subfamily In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

Ratardinae The Ratardinae are a small subfamily of large moths from Southeast Asia. Taxonomy and systematics Ratardinae is a small subfamily of moths formerly placed in its own family Ratardidae and related to (and often included within) the Cossidae. Thr ...

, which is mostly active during the day. This family includes many species with large

caterpillar Caterpillars ( ) are the larval stage of members of the order Lepidoptera (the insect order comprising butterflies and moths). As with most common names, the application of the word is arbitrary, since the larvae of sawflies (suborder Sym ...

s and

moth Moths are a paraphyletic group of insects that includes all members of the order Lepidoptera that are not butterflies, with moths making up the vast majority of the order. There are thought to be approximately 160,000 species of moth, many of w ...

s with a

wingspan The wingspan (or just span) of a bird or an airplane is the distance from one wingtip to the other wingtip. For example, the Boeing 777–200 has a wingspan of , and a wandering albatross (''Diomedea exulans'') caught in 1965 had a wingspan of ...

from . These moths are mostly grey; some have long, narrow wings and resemble

hawkmoth The Sphingidae are a family of moths ( Lepidoptera) called sphinx moths, also colloquially known as hawk moths, with many of their caterpillars known as “hornworms”; it includes about 1,450 species. It is best represented in the tropics, b ...

s (Sphingidae) which are more advanced

macrolepidoptera Macrolepidoptera is a group within the insect order Lepidoptera. Traditionally used for the larger butterflies and moths as opposed to the "microlepidoptera", this group is artificial. However, it seems that by moving some taxa about, a monoph ...

, however. Many are twig, bark, or leaf

mimic MIMIC, known in capitalized form only, is a former simulation computer language developed 1964 by H. E. Petersen, F. J. Sansom and L. M. Warshawsky of Systems Engineering Group within the Air Force Materiel Command at the Wright-Patterson AFB in ...

s, and Cossidae often have some sort of large marking at the tip of the forewing uppersides, conspicuous in flight, but resembling a broken-off twig when the animals are resting. Caterpillars are smooth with a few hairs. Most cossid caterpillars are tree borers, in some species taking up to three years to mature. The caterpillars

pupa A pupa ( la, pupa, "doll"; plural: ''pupae'') is the life stage of some insects undergoing transformation between immature and mature stages. Insects that go through a pupal stage are holometabolous: they go through four distinct stages in their ...

te within their tunnels; they often have an unpleasant smell, hence another colloquial name is goat moths. The family includes the carpenterworm (''

Prionoxystus robiniae ''Prionoxystus robiniae'', the carpenterworm moth or locust borer, is a moth of the family Cossidae. It was first described by Peck in 1818 and it is found in southern Canada and most of the United States. The wingspan is 43–85 mm. Adu ...

'') and the

goat moth ''Cossus cossus'', the goat moth, is a moth of the family Cossidae. It is found in Northern Africa, Asia and Europe. Biology This is a large heavy moth with a wingspan of 68–96 mm. The wings are greyish brown and marked with fine dark cr ...

(''Cossus cossus'') which have gained popularity as pests. However, the large caterpillars of species that do not smell badly are often

edible An edible item is any item that is safe for humans to eat. "Edible" is differentiated from "eatable" because it does not indicate how an item tastes, only whether it is fit to be eaten. Nonpoisonous items found in nature – such as some mushroo ...

Witchetty grub The witchetty grub (also spelled witchety grub or witjuti grub) is a term used in Australia for the large, white, wood-eating larvae of several moths. In particular, it applies to the larvae of the cossid moth ''Endoxyla leucomochla'', which fee ...

s – among the

Outback The Outback is a remote, vast, sparsely populated area of Australia. The Outback is more remote than the bush. While often envisaged as being arid, the Outback regions extend from the northern to southern Australian coastlines and encompass a n ...

's most famous

bush tucker Bush tucker, also called bush food, is any food native to Australia and used as sustenance by Indigenous Australians, the Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander peoples, but it can also describe any native flora or fauna used for culinary or ...

– are most commonly the caterpillars of ''

Endoxyla leucomochla ''Endoxyla leucomochla'' is a species of cossid moth endemic to Australia. The larva of the moth is commonly known as the "witchetty grub", and is widely used as bush tucker by Indigenous Australians.Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

. In

Chile Chile, officially the Republic of Chile, is a country in the western part of South America. It is the southernmost country in the world, and the closest to Antarctica, occupying a long and narrow strip of land between the Andes to the east a ...

, the sweet-smelling caterpillars of the Chilean moth (''

Chilecomadia moorei The Chilean moth (''Chilecomadia moorei'') is a moth of the family Cossidae. The butterworm is the larval form and is commonly used as fishing bait in South America."The Incredible Edible Worm", by Audrey Pavia, ''Reptiles Magazine'', July, 2007 ...

'') are harvested in quantity and internationally traded as butterworms, for use as

pet food Pet food is animal feed intended for consumption by pets. Typically sold in pet stores and supermarkets, it is usually specific to the type of animal, such as dog food or cat food. Most meat used for animals is a byproduct of the human food indu ...

and

fishing bait Fishing bait is any substance used to attract and catch fish, e.g. on a fishing hook. Bait items are both selected from and placed within the environment to achieve enhanced prey capture success. Traditionally, fishing baits are natural fish food ...

Systematics

Some other animal families, such as the Dudgeoneidae,

Metarbelidae The Metarbelidae are a family of the Cossoidea also called the carpenter or goat moths, and is sometimes treated as a subfamily, Metarbelinae of the Cossidae. No synapomorphies are shared with the Cossidae based on adult morphology. The family Me ...

, and Ratardidae, have been included within this family time and again. The first is considered a distinct family of the

Cossoidea Cossoidea is the superfamily of moths that includes carpenter moths and relatives. Like their likely sister group Sesioidea they are internal feeders and have spiny pupae with moveable segments to allow them to extrude out of their exit holes in ...

today recognizable by their

abdominal The abdomen (colloquially called the belly, tummy, midriff, tucky or stomach) is the part of the body between the thorax (chest) and pelvis, in humans and in other vertebrates. The abdomen is the front part of the abdominal segment of the torso. ...

tympanal organ A tympanal organ (or tympanic organ) is a hearing organ in insects, consisting of a membrane ( tympanum) stretched across a frame backed by an air sac and associated sensory neurons. Sounds vibrate the membrane, and the vibrations are sensed by ...

s which the Cossidae lack, whereas the other two are usually kept in the Cossidae as

subfamilies In biological classification, a subfamily (Latin: ', plural ') is an auxiliary (intermediate) taxonomic rank, next below family but more inclusive than genus. Standard nomenclature rules end subfamily botanical names with "-oideae", and zoologi ...

. Some unrelated millers were included in the Cossidae in error, too, such as the genus '' Holcoceroides'' which is more primitive

Ditrysia The Ditrysia are a natural group or clade of insects in the lepidopteran order containing both butterflies and moths. They are so named because the female has two distinct sexual openings: one for mating, and the other for laying eggs (in contra ...

, or the Andesianidae which are even more ancient

Heteroneura Heteroneura is a natural group (or clade) in the insect order Lepidoptera that comprises over 99% of all butterflies and moths. This is the sister group of the infraorder Exoporia The Exoporia are a group of primitive Lepidoptera comprising t ...

. The Cossidae were usually divided into six

.Pitkin & Jenkins (2004) and see references in Savela (2006) However, numerous new

have been described recently, the current taxonomy is: Древоточец эвкалиптовый

*Subfamily Catoptinae *Subfamily Chilecomadiinae *Subfamily Cossinae *Subfamily

Cossulinae The Cossulinae are a subfamily of the family Cossidae The Cossidae, the cossid millers or carpenter millers, make up a family of mostly large miller moths. This family contains over 110 genera with almost 700 known species, and many more sp ...

*Subfamily Hypoptinae *Subfamily Mehariinae *Subfamily

Metarbelinae The Metarbelidae are a family of the Cossoidea also called the carpenter or goat moths, and is sometimes treated as a subfamily, Metarbelinae of the Cossidae. No synapomorphies are shared with the Cossidae based on adult morphology. The family Met ...

(disputed) *Subfamily Politzariellinae *Subfamily Pseudocossinae *Subfamily

(disputed) *Subfamily Stygiinae *Subfamily Zeuzerinae Zyganisus caliginosus (ento-csiro-au)

*Genera ''

Incertae sedis ' () or ''problematica'' is a term used for a taxonomic group where its broader relationships are unknown or undefined. Alternatively, such groups are frequently referred to as "enigmatic taxa". In the system of open nomenclature, uncertainty ...

'': * '' Acritocera'' * '' Anastomophleps'' * '' Archaeoses'' * '' Charmoses'' * '' Dolecta'' * '' Eusthenica'' (or in

Glyphipterigidae The Glyphipterigidae are a family of small moths commonly known as sedge moths, as the larvae of many species feed on sedge The Cyperaceae are a family of graminoid (grass-like), monocotyledonous flowering plants known as sedges. The family ...

) * †'' Gurnetia'' * '' Huayna'' * '' Psychidarbela'' * '' Ptilomacra'' * '' Schausiania''

Excluded genera

* Moth genera now included in Dudgeoneidae ** †'' Achthina'' ** '' Nomima'' ** '' Theatrista'' * Moth genera now included in

Psychidae The Psychidae (bagworm moths, also simply bagworms or bagmoths) are a family of the Lepidoptera ( butterflies and moths). The bagworm family is fairly small, with about 1,350 species described. Bagworm species are found globally, with some, ...

** '' Adelopsyche'' ** '' Degia'' ** '' Hemilipia'' ** ''

Mekla Mekla is a town and commune in Tizi Ouzou Province in northern Algeria ) , image_map = Algeria (centered orthographic projection).svg , map_caption = , image_map2 = , capital = Algiers , ...

'' ** '' Trigonocyttara'' ** '' Westia'' * Other ** '' Pecticossus'' ** '' Phragmatoecioides'' ** '' Pseudurgis'' ** '' Synaptophleps'' ** †'' Xyleutites''

References

External links

Flickr
Cossidae {{Taxonbar , from=Q838122 Moth families

Systematics

Excluded genera

References

Further reading

External links