Wiltshirocossus aries

Wiltshirocossus aries is a species of moth of the family Cossidae. It is found in southern Spain, on the Canary Islands, as well as in Mauritania, Israel, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Yemen, Oman, Algeria, Tunisia and Egypt.^[1] The habitat consists of deserts and semidesert areas.^[2][3]

Wiltshirocossus aries
Scientific classification
Kingdom:	Animalia
Phylum:	Arthropoda
Class:	Insecta
Order:	Lepidoptera
Family:	Cossidae
Subfamily:	Cossinae
Tribe:	Cossini
Genus:	Wiltshirocossus
Species:	W. aries
Binomial name
Wiltshirocossus aries (Püngeler, 1902)
Synonyms
Cossus aries Püngeler, 1902 Cossus bongiovannii Krüger, 1939 Cossus pulcher Rungs, 1942 Cossus tahlai Dumont, 1932 Cossus turatii Krüger, 1934 Wiltshirocossus aegyptiaca (Hampson, 1910) Wiltshirocossus bongiovannii (Krüger, 1939) Wiltshirocossus pulcher (Rungs, 1943) Wiltshirocossus tahlai (Dumont, 1932) Wiltshirocossus turatii (Krüger, 1934)

The wingspan is about 39 mm. The ground colour of the forewings is white, with brownish suffusion. The hindwings are shining greyish black.^[4] Adults are on wing from February to April in North Africa and from April to May in Spain.

The larvae feed on Acacia species.

Subspecies

• Wiltshirocossus aries aries
• Wiltshirocossus aries aegyptiaca (Hampson, 1910) (Egypt)
• Wiltshirocossus aries cheesmani (Tams, 1925) (Saudi Arabia, Bahrain)