Zeuzerinae

Adults typically exhibit bold wing patterns with spots, bands, or reticulated markings that inspire the common name 'leopard moths.' Many species have elongated, narrow forewings and relatively broad hindwings. Larvae are robust, creamy-white to pinkish caterpillars with well-developed mandibles adapted for wood-boring. Diagnostic features for distinguishing Zeuzerinae from other Cossidae subfamilies include specific genitalic structures, particularly in males, and wing venation patterns.

Cosmopolitan distribution with highest diversity in tropical Asia, Africa, and the Neotropics. Genera such as Psychonoctua and Schreiteriana occur in the New World. Species of Phragmataecia and Phragmacossia are found across Europe, the Middle East, Central Asia, and the Mediterranean. The genus Xyleutes includes species from the Western Ghats of India and other Old World regions.

Larvae function as primary decomposers and wood-borers in forest ecosystems, creating galleries in living and dead wood. Some species are economically significant pests. Natural enemies include parasitoid wasps (Brachymeria, Eulophidae), tachinid flies (Cossidophaga), and entomopathogenic fungi (Metarhizium).

Several species are major forestry and agricultural pests. Polyphagozerra coffeae, known as the coffee carpenter moth or red coffee borer, attacks coffee, Eucalyptus, and at least 69 plant species across 30 families, causing significant damage through larval tunneling. Zeuzera species damage various hardwood trees. Control methods include biological control using parasitoids and entomopathogens.

• CossinaeAnother subfamily of Cossidae; distinguished by different genitalic morphology and typically less contrasting wing patterns in most species
• MetarbelinaeFormerly treated as a separate family, now often included in Cossidae; generally smaller with different wing shape and reduced patterning

• carpenter moths
• wood-boring moths
• forest pests
• Leopard moths
• Cossidae
• Lepidoptera
• tropical moths
• forestry pests
• biological control
• wood-boring larvae

• BugGuide
• Wikipedia
• iNaturalist taxon
• NCBI Taxonomy
• Catalogue of Life
• Phragmacossia bozanoi—a new species from southern Greece with some notes on Phragmataecia and Phragmacossia (Lepidoptera, Cossidae, Zeuzerinae)
• On the taxonomy of Zeuzera boisduvalii Herrich-Schäffer, 1854 (Cossidae, Zeuzerinae) species complex with description of a new genus and three new species
• Review of genera Psychonoctua Grote, 1865 and Schreiteriana Fletcher et Nye, 1982 (Lepidoptera: Cossidae: Zeuzerinae)
• A world catalogue of Xyleutes Hübner, 1820 (Lepidoptera: Cossidae: Zeuzerinae) with description of a new species from the Western Ghats of India
• <strong>On the taxonomy of </strong><strong><em>Zeuzera boisduvalii </em></strong><strong>H</strong><strong>errich-Schäffer, </strong><strong>1854 (Cossidae, Zeuzerinae) species complex with description of a new genus and three new species</strong>
• Notas sobre la biología y enemigos naturales de Polyphagozerra coffeae (Nietner, 1861) infestando el árboles Eucalyptus pellita F. Muell. (Myrtaceae) en Riau, Indonesia (Lepidoptera: Cossidae, Zeuzerinae)