THE CORK MOTH. 215 



texture, by which it had firmly attached the cork 

 to the bracket. Having made its home secure, it 

 had gone on to spin a soft, silken cradle, in which 

 I found the culprit itself ensconced. 



This may seem but a trivial thing to record, but 

 here was a life-history being worked out in small 

 compass, all unknown to us in our daily business, 

 and though in this particular case no harm re- 

 sulted, yet by this apparently insignificant insect, 

 as I afterwards found out, thousands of pounds are 

 lost every year, its larvae boring the corks, and 

 thus causing the leakage of valuable wine, espe- 

 cially old sweet wines. 



I was led to make inquiries about this cork 

 moth, and a wine merchant kindly supplied me 

 with the following facts : 



In twenty-five years' experience he had never 

 seen the perfect insect, but knew it well to be a 

 moth called Oinophila-v-flava. This creature 

 finds its way into dry cellars and lays its eggs in 

 the corks of bottles which are unprotected by wax 

 or leaden capsules. A small white grub with a 

 brown head is hatched from the egg, and bores a 

 tunnel through the cork, just so far as to reach 



