The Black Carpet Beetle 229 



sary it is to keep constant watch in the summer 

 time on all household articles made of wool. 



Mr. Leland O. Howard says that the larvse of 

 these domestic pests are useful in destroying the 

 eggs of the Tussock moths, also that a certain wee 

 wasp is useful in destroying the young dermestes. 



When this dermestes is outdoors it dines upon 

 the pollen of the flowers. It is very fond of the 

 blossoms of the shad bush. Indoors it will destroy 

 the specimens of your cabinet and eat holes in 

 your carpet or your clothes. It probably had more 

 to do with introducing hard-wood floors into our 

 buildings and doing away with carpets for our 

 floors than any other cause. While it was plentiful 

 fifteen years ago, it does not seem to be doing much 

 damage at present writing. It is not fond of waxed 

 hard-wood floors and as for rugs that people take 

 up and shake every day, it takes no stock in them. 

 Maybe for that reason it has again turned its 

 attention to the outdoor world. It also has an 

 ugly bristly larva. 



BLACK CARPET BEETLE AND ITS RELATIVES 



Fig. 208 shows a pest in museums, that de- 

 stroys valuable specimens. Fig. 209 is the black 

 carpet beetle, fond of feather pillows and feather 



