About Cossus cossus Linnaeus, 1758
Cossus cossus, commonly known as the goat moth, is a moth species belonging to the family Cossidae. This species can be found in Europe, Asia, and Northern Africa. In his work Natural History, Pliny the Elder recorded that a grub called cossus was viewed as a delicacy in ancient Rome after being fed on flour. Some authors have proposed that this grub is the larva of Cossus cossus, but Pliny explicitly notes that his described cossus lives in oak trees, making this identification unlikely. Pliny's cossus is far more likely to be the larva of the beetle Cerambyx heros. Cossus cossus larvae have a recorded preference for feeding on plants from the genera Populus, Quercus, and Salix.
