Taxa
Cossidae
Family
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Cossidae, commonly called cossid millers or, for their odor, goat moths, is a family of mostly large moths found worldwide, comprising over 110 genera and almost 700 known species, with more believed to be undescribed. Most are nocturnal, apart from the Southeast Asian subfamily Ratardinae, and adults are typically grey with wingspans from about 9 to 24 centimeters, often patterned to resemble twigs, bark or leaves. Caterpillars are smooth with sparse hairs and are primarily wood borers in living trees, in some species taking up to three years to mature, and they pupate inside their tunnels; several, such as the carpenterworm and the European goat moth, are significant tree pests, while non-odorous caterpillars of some species are eaten as food, including the witchetty grubs of Australia and the butterworms of Chile.
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