98 Second Report on Economic Zoology. 



chairs, and from them had invaded the sateen hangings on the walls. 

 He stated that he had got rid of the chairs and had several times 

 burnt sulphur in the room, but still found them in smaller numbers. 

 He was informed that sulphur fumigation clears them out, and this 

 has been found to be successful by many people, but it must be done 

 as follows, namely (1) with complete air-tightness ; (2) in a dry room ; 

 (o) the sulphur must be burnt twice or even three times at intervals 

 of ten days, as the sulphur fumes do not affect the eggs of the mites, 

 which must be allowed to hatch out. 



Another gentleman left materials used in upholstering in 

 November that were much infested with small mites. The various 

 substances were examined, and 1 found the pest to be the Common 

 Household Mite {Glycvphagus dommticus). There is little doubt that 

 this mite lives mainly in the horsehair used in upholstery, feeding 

 upon the unextracted juices. In this way we find they get into 

 furniture — but the mites will feed on both dried animal and vegetable 

 matter. Although they were found in braiding, canvas, wool, etc., 

 left at the Museum, the horsehair had most. 



It is now found that sulphur fumes alone do any good in killing 

 mites, liooms in which the mites are should be well fumigated with 

 sulphur, the material infested baked or similarly fumigated and then 

 the room cleared out. Two fumigations are necessary, the second 

 ten days after the tirst, so as to kill those that come from the eggs. 



C. ANIMALS INJUEIOUS TO FOOD AND STOEES. 

 The Mediterranean Flour Moth. 



(JEJphestia kuhniella, Zeller.) 



Information was sent regarding the damage caused by the above- 

 named moth in a mill at Stratford-on-Avon. The correspondent 

 stated that the pest was a great nuisance, clogging the rolls by spin- 

 ning its cocoons and sometimes stopping them. The webbing of the 

 elevators gets covered with them also and stops working. " I have 

 two mills," writes the correspondent, " and they will not live in one 

 that is damp." The insects causing the annoyance in the mill were 

 the Mediterranean Flour Moth [Ephestia kuhniella of Zeller). This 

 insect is a great scourge when it once gets into a mill, frequently 

 clogging the rollers and blocking up the machinery altogether. It 

 invaded England in 1886, and has since spread considerably, being 



