ENTOMOLOGY 335 



caterpillars will subsist on animal products other than fabrics, but 

 in the household, woolen, fur and feather goods, whether on the 

 floor as carpets, on the walls as hangings, or in trunks or closets 

 as clothing, are the principal objects of attack. The eggs are very 

 minute, whitish in color and are usually laid directly upon the 

 material on which the larva afterward feeds; but they may be laid 

 in crevices of trunks, boxes or closets containing woolen or other 

 susceptible goods, if the insect cannot get at them directly. 



The moth is nocturnal in habit and shuns the light, therefore 

 dark corners and closets are danger points, as are also the crevices 

 of upholstered furniture and the edges of carpets behind fur- 

 niture, especially upright pianos or other heavy, rarely moved 

 pieces. 



From the egg a minute white caterpillar hatches in about ten 

 days and this begins almost at once the construction of a little case 

 or cover made out of fragments of the tissue on which it feeds, held 

 together and lined with fine silk. As the insect grows, this case is 

 enlarged from time to time, and it curiously illustrates the insect's 

 preference for certain colors where there is an opportunity for choice. 

 In an infested carpet certain reds will always be eaten out before any 

 other colors are touched. The length of time passed in the larval 

 stage varies with the locality. No breeding goes on during the 

 winter. When the caterpillar is full grown, it frequently leaves 

 the fabrics upon which it has been feeding and crawls, carrying its 

 case with it, up the walls of closets or rooms to corners or protected 

 places, where it fastens the case permanently, retires within it and 

 closes the opening preparatory to changing to the pupal stage. Be- 

 fore changing to the adult or moth stage the pupa wriggles partly out 

 of the case, and so the empty shell remains after the moth has 

 left it. 



This is another of those cases where prevention is better than 

 cure, and our efforts are mostly to prevent clothing, etc., from 

 becoming infested rather than destroying the insects after they 

 once get into fabrics. Clothing in continuous use never becomes 

 infested, nor do carpets regularly and thoroughly swept, or rugs 

 turned and swept at least once in two or three weeks during the 

 summer. Curtains and portieres should be frequently spread out 

 and thoroughly brushed, and should never be allowed to be folded 

 back in one position for weeks. Upholstered furniture should be 

 taken out into the sunlight occasionally and thoroughly brushed 

 out in all folds and corners. 



Where carpets are tacked down they usually become infested 

 along the edges, and when feeding is discovered a liberal use of 

 gasoline is indicated. This material does not injure fabrics and 

 leaves no residue, so its use is quite safe. 



Trunks or boxes in which clothing is to be stored for the sum- 

 mer should be thoroughly cleaned and treated with gasoline, and 

 then it should be made certain that they are tight enough to keep 

 out young caterpillars, should moths be tempted to lay ejzgs on 

 the outside, along the joints or seams. The clothing to be packed 



