BOOKWORMS IN FACT AND FANCY. 243 



in the search for specimens of the " destroyer," many of them reveal- 

 ing the fact that some unique and curious creature which stands alone 

 in its taste for literary food was sought. Mr. Blades reported in 1858 

 that he found specimens in some black-letter fragments at the Bodleian 

 Library, that were recogTiized by the librarian. Dr. Bandinel, who 

 crushed them with his thumb, saying, as he wiped his thumb nail on 

 his coat sleeve, " O yes, they have black heads sometimes." The 

 librarian of Hereford Cathedral, the Rev. F. S. Havergal, contributes 

 his observations, covering a period of eighteen years, during which 

 time he reports that he found two distinct species. From his de- 

 scription, however, it appears that he failed to recognize that the two 

 were the larva and imago of the same species. Many cases of the find- 

 ing of bookworms reported in England and America are not accom- 

 panied with sufficient data to determine just what they were. These 

 contribute to the general impression that many have sought but few 

 have found what were thought to be " genuine bookworms," while on 

 every hand are those creatures which under the right conditions be- 

 come book destroyers. 



Research among the literature concerning library pests reveals 

 the fact that no less than eleven different groups have members that 

 are directly or indirectly accused of injuring books and bindings. 

 The number of species in each group ranges from one to eleven, 

 making a total of over thirty different species. In addition to these 

 there are others against which the evidence is at best only circumstan- 

 tial. It is not necessary to say that none of these bear any resem- 

 blance in any period of their existence to worms, and that the term 

 bookworms is a misnomer. The word has become so firmly fixed in 

 literature, both in its figurative and literal sense, that its misuse will 

 no doubt continue. 



The larger number of these are included in the class Hexapoda, 

 or insects. Two species belong to the class Arachnida, which em- 

 braces the scorpions, spiders, mites, etc. One of these, Chelifer can- 

 croides, known as the " book scorpion," although not a true scorpion, 

 belongs to the order Pseudoscorpiones, and is probably what Aris- 

 totle had in mind when speaking of the " little scorpionlike insects 

 found in books." The other species is known as Cheyletus eruditus, 

 of the order Acarina, or " cheese mites." These two are known to 

 be carnivorous in their habits, and there is some question as to whether 

 they haunt books for the purpose of feeding on them or on other 

 creatures to be found there. 



Of those in the class Hexapoda, which comprises all the other 

 known book pests, there can be no question as regards their destruc- 

 tiveness. Many are known about the house by the name of the 

 article they are most frequently found in, and unless driven by a 



