CLOTHES MOTHS AND OTHER TINE^ 103 



The former of these insects (Fig. 30) is literally 

 ubiquitous. From appearing usually on windows, it 

 has received the name fene- 

 strella, or " window moth," 

 but it has also been called 

 lacteella, or "milk moth," 

 in consequence of being so 



frequently found drowned 



,. .,, . FIG. 30. Endrosis fenestrella. 



in the contents or milk- jugs. 



The water-jugs and basins in our bedrooms also often 

 testify to similar fatalities. It is really a very pretty 

 little creature, and, if only it were rare, would be highly 

 prized on account of its beauty ; but being so abundant, 

 and a " moth " to boot, its fair exterior goes for nothing, 

 and it is only considered a nuisance. It has brownish 

 fore- wings, speckled with darker, but its head and thorax 

 are of a pure snow-white. This description is quite suffi- 

 cient to enable it to be recognised, for there is no other 

 moth like it. It is a larger insect than most of the 

 preceding; and the wings, when fully spread, stretch 

 about two-thirds of an inch. Its white head, which is 

 an exquisite object for a low power of the microscope, 

 renders it easily seen, and in consequence it has often 

 to pay the penalty of death for crimes it has never com- 

 mitted. The finger of the careful housekeeper often 

 comes down upon it with vengeance, treating it as a 

 devourer of woollen goods, when the real culprits such 

 insignificant creatures as T. pellionella and biselliella 

 by their smaller size and obscure appearance, escape 

 notice. It is, in fact, not a clothes eater. Its larva 

 feeds upon all sorts of waste substances, especially those 

 of a vegetable nature, and thus, no doubt, often clears 

 up for us a good deal of rubbish out of odd corners. It 

 may be found all the year round, and probably there 



