338 Phylum Arthropoda 



Family tineidae 



A METHOD FOR BREEDING CLOTHES MOTHS 



ON FISH MEAL 



Grace H. Griswold, Cornell University 



WHERE large numbers of clothes moths are used for testing 

 various methods of control, it is often difficult to keep on hand a 

 supply sufficiently large to meet all needs. With fish meal as the sole 

 food supply, an efficient method for rearing them has been devised at 

 the Cornell Insectary. 



The meal which has been found so satisfactory is "white fish meal" 

 and is manufactured by the Dehydrating Process Company, Boston, 

 Massachusetts. 



Cylindrical cardboard cartons, such as are used for packing butter 

 and cheese, make good rearing cages. The gallon-sized carton is about 

 7 inches high and 6% inches in diameter. The cartons are inexpensive, 

 and, since they may be stacked upon shelves, they occupy very little 

 space. 



In the center of a large square of cloth (about 22 by 22 inches) is 

 pasted a circular piece of heavy cardboard, slightly smaller than the 

 bottom of the carton. The cloth is placed in the container so that the 

 cardboard rests on the bottom. A layer of fish meal, about half 

 an inch thick, is spread evenly over the circle of cardboard. The cloth 

 is then folded back against the sides of the carton and the cover is put 

 on. Adults are admitted to the container through a small opening cut 

 in the cover. This opening is closed on the outside with a piece of 

 cheesecloth secured by a little paste. To infest a new container it 

 is only necessary to catch a few adults in small vials and drop them 

 into the opening in the cover of the carton. The females have easy 

 access to the fish meal and will lay quantities of eggs. At temperatures 

 similar to those of an ordinary living room, adults will begin to emerge 

 within about two months after a container has been infested. 



When one wishes a supply of larvae, the carton may be opened and 

 the square of cloth carefully lifted out. In this way the entire contents 

 of the carton may be removed without disturbing the layer of fish meal, 

 which rests on the circle of cardboard in the center of the cloth. Larvae 

 will be found crawling all over the cloth and may be removed with 

 the aid of a camel's hair brush. If the cloth is black, the white bodies 

 of the larvae stand out clearly. 



Since adults shun the light, they will be found hiding in the folds of 

 the cloth where they are easy to catch. Some, of course, will escape 

 when the carton is opened. To obviate this, one may have a second 



