INSECTS INJURIOUS TO CLOTHES 



205 



Life history of the beetle. — The curiously wrinkled, 

 whitish eggs are laid by the mother beetle among the 

 fibers of the cloth upon which the larvae are feeding or 

 will feed. Here, under favorable circumstances, they 

 hatch in ten days to two weeks and the larvae eat vora- 

 ciously, grow rather rapidly if food is available, and cast 

 their skins, un- 

 der normal con- 

 ditions, about 

 six times. The 

 growth of the 

 larvae is greatly 

 retarded by cold 

 weather or lack 

 of food, but still 

 they manage to 

 exist and live 

 on indefinitely, 

 molting many 

 times and de- 

 vouring their 

 cast skins. 



The larva is 

 quite character- 

 istic in appearance. It is nearly a quarter of an inch 

 in length and clothed with long brown hairs (Fig. 60). 

 The hairs on the sides of the body are longer than those 

 on the back, while the hairs at the anterior and posterior 

 ends of the larva are longest of all. The larva is active 

 and seems to be eating most of the time whenever food 

 is to be had. 



After the larva reaches full growth, it transforms, within 



Fig. 59. — A common lady-bird. (X 13.) 



