THE ANIMAL LIFE OF THE GROUP. 405 



The Clothes-Moth and Other Household Pests. 



The clothes-moth"" is the dread of every housewife, and any harmless 

 little moth that ventures indoors by accident or otherwise is usually con- 

 demned to instant destruction lest a single guilty one should escape. Practical 

 experience has proved this to be the best rule to follow. At any rate, a moth 

 that seeks out the dark corners of the closet and bureau drawers and hides 

 itself away in clothing is not to be trusted, nor should such places of conceal- 

 ment to be long neglected for fear the adult moth that is killed has already 

 deposited her eggs. From the eggs of the clothes-moth in due time will emerge 

 the characteristic brownish-black voracious caterpillar that feeds on the fabric 

 and also uses the material for the construction of the husk-like case in which 

 it assumes the chrysalis state. 



Besides the clothes-moth to annoy the housewife there is the closely-related 

 angoumois grain-moth "^ that attacks stored rice. Other enemies that occur in 

 stored products and supplies in Hawaii are rice-weevils.i^- bean-weevils,"^ 

 red-rust fiour-beetles,"^ ham and cheese maggots,"^ bamboo beetles,"" bone- 

 meal beetles,!' *■ bakery beetles,^!'* cigarette beetles,"" and the cadelle or meal- 

 worm.'-" a small beetle that is woi-ld-wide in its distrilnition. 



Centu^edes. 



While discussing the more fainiliar household insects, allusion should be 

 made to several other small creatures that, although they are not insects, 

 belong with the insects to the great branch Arthropoda — a group that, as we 

 have seen, has been made to include all such creatures as have bodies composed 

 of a linear series of rings or segments bearing paired, jointed appendages that 

 are articulated with an external skeleton. 



The common venomous centipede'-' is an example of the Chilopoda that 

 may be recognized at a glance by the fact that each segment of the body bears 

 a single pair of legs. The poison glands open through the claws of the first 

 pair of legs. These are bent forward so as to act with the mouth parts. While 

 the bite of a centipede in Hawaii is extremely painful, as many can testify, it 

 is not dangerous, and may be counteracted by the use of ammonia, or it is said 

 that, in the absence of that chemical, relief may be had by pounding the 

 centipede itself into a jelly-like mass and binding it onto the bite. A centipede 

 bite may be at once identified from the sting of any other creature by the fact 

 that the pincer-like legs make a jiair of punctures in the skin of the person 

 "bitten." The distance between the punctures furnish a fair index as to 

 the size of the specimen inflicting the injury. 



Centipedes are predaceous in habit, feeding on insects generally, but 

 especially on cockroaches. They usually live in moist, dark places under 

 sticks, boards, stones, and in crevices in the bark of trees during the daytime, 



^^0 Tinea pellioneUa. ^" .Sihil ruim cereatfUa. ^^- Calandm aryza. ^^^ Bnirliiia ubtertiis. 



11* Triholitirn ferruffinenm. ^^^ Piophila canei. ^^'^ Dinoderiis iniiiutua. ^^' Dennetttes cadavfrinus. 



1"* Lophocaterea pusilla. i"* Losioderma serricorne. ^~° Tenebrioidfs mauritauirtis. 



1-1 .Srnlopendra repeiis. 



