272 INSECT PESTS OF THE HOUSEHOLD. 



Clothes-moths. 



There are three closely related insects in the United 

 States which may properly be called clothes-moths. 

 The}^ are quite similar in appearance, but the larvae 

 differ somewhat in feeding habits. The commonest 

 one probably is the Case-making Clothes-moth (Tinea 

 peUionella), the life-history of which Dr. Riley has 

 thus summarized : " The small light-brown moths, 

 distinguished by the darker spots at intervals on the 

 wings, begins to appear in May and are occasionally 

 seen flitting about as late as August. They pair 

 and the female then searches for suitable places for 

 the deposition of her eggs, working her way into 

 dark corners and deep into the folds of garments, 

 apparently choosing by instinct the least conspicu- 

 ous places. From these eggs hatch the white, soft- 

 bodied larvse, each one of which begins immediately 

 to make a case for itself from the fragments of the 

 cloth upon which it feeds. The case is in the shape 

 of a hollow roll or cylinder and the interior is lined 

 with silk. As they grow they enlarge these cases 

 by adding material to either end and by inserting 

 gores down the sides which they slit open for 

 the purpose. The larva reaches its full growth 

 toward winter, and then, crawling into some yet 

 more protected spot, remains there torpid through 

 the winter within its case, which is at this time 

 thickened and fastened at either end with silk. The 

 transformation to pupa takes place within the case 



