Endoxyla cinereus

Endoxyla cinereus, the giant wood moth, is a moth in the family Cossidae.[1] It is found in Australia (Queensland, New South Wales) and New Zealand.[2] The species was first described in 1890. A rare contemporary sighting of the moth at a school in Australia garnered notice as an editor's pick among the daily headlines of the New York Times on May 8, 2021.[3]

Endoxyla cinereus
Scientific classification Edit this classification
Domain: Eukaryota
Kingdom: Animalia
Phylum: Arthropoda
Class: Insecta
Order: Lepidoptera
Family: Cossidae
Genus: Endoxyla
Species:
E. cinereus
Binomial name
Endoxyla cinereus
(Tepper, 1890)
Synonyms
  • Cossus cinereus Tepper, 1890
  • Xyleutes boisduvali Rothschild, 1896
  • Cossus cinerens Frogatt, 1907
  • Xyleutes boisduvalli Froggatt, 1923

It is the heaviest moth in the world; weighing up to 30 g.[4] Its wingspan is approximately 23 cm, or just over nine inches.

The larvae bore into the trunks of trees of the Eucalyptus species. Pupation takes place in the larval tunnel.[5]

References
  1. "The Global Lepidoptera Names Index". Natural History Museum. Retrieved 5 May 2021.
  2. Yakovlev, R.V., 2011: Catalogue of the Family Cossidae of the Old World. Neue Entomologische Nachrichten, 66: 1-129.
  3. Cramer, Maria, This Moth Is Huge in Australia, The New York Times, Saturday, May 8, 2021
  4. Giant Wood Moth, The Australian Museum
  5. "lepidoptera.butterflyhouse.com.au". Archived from the original on 2014-07-14. Retrieved 2014-07-09.

Further reading


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