INSECTS INJURIOUS TO CLOTHES 



211 



"buffalo moth" about the edges of carpets in a house at 

 Schenectady, New York, in 1876. He, at first, supposed it 

 was about the borders of the carpet in search of dead flies 

 and the cast skins of the "buffalo moth," but, later, he 

 found it a real enemy of the carpet itself. Since that 

 time, this insect has become quite a noted carpet pest in 

 this country. It has become more 

 numerous in some houses than the 

 "buffalo moth," and in the city of 

 Washington, Howard says it has be- 

 come very abundant and has taken 

 the place of Anthrenus scropkidaricB. 

 It is widespread in Europe and Asia 

 and has been in the United States for 

 many years. 



It has been said that this beetle is 

 not so fond of working in cracks in 

 floors as the " buffalo moth," but 

 many of the larvae of these beetles 

 have been found in the floor cracks 

 of a house in Ithaca, New York. 

 They apparently bred in the cracks 

 all the year round. The cast larval 

 skins and living, mature larvse were found in January. 



Like the " buffalo moth," it is not the adult that commits 

 the injury, but it is the larva that does the damage. The 

 larva is long and slender and tapers toward the posterior 

 end. It is reddish-brown in color, quite active, and clothed 

 with hairs, while the posterior end of the body terminates 

 in a pencil of long hairs. It is easily distinguishable from 

 the "buffalo moth" and the illustrations should enable 

 any one to tell the two apart (Fig. G2). 



Fig. 62. — Larva of 

 the black carpet 

 beetle. (X 5.) 



