350 INSECTS AFFECTING VEGETATION 



white, tapering quite markedly toward the posterior end. Others 

 are found in dry places around stoves, in the drawers of desks and 

 pantries and these are more flattened, less smooth and tapering 

 and somewhat mottled with gray on the back. 



These insects feed in starchy material of all kinds, wherever 

 they can get it, and do not attack carpets or clothing under ordinary 

 circumstances. The jaws are small and weak, but they are sharp, 

 and the insects will gnaw the starch from stiff shirt bosoms, the 

 calendered surface of heavy paper, or will eat the paste of the 

 wall paper or starchy material of any kind. They occasionally 

 gnaw the bindings of books, or the gummed labels, and in that way 

 make themselves a nuisance. 



No serious trouble is known to occur in households from these 

 insects. They do no good and should be killed whenever seen ; but, 

 on the other hand, they are rarely abundant enough to warrant a 

 campaign against them. Naphthaline is usually a repellant and 

 pyrethrum dusted into their hiding places kills them readily. Gaso- 

 line is sure death to them, of course. 



Book-Lice. Occasionally the housekeeper gets a scare when 

 she notices among her starched sheets and skirts on the shelves of 

 the closet or in the drawers of a bureau or table, little, white louse- 

 like insects that move rapidly and that seem to be out for no good 

 purpose. They are quite generally mistaken for true parasites, but 

 are only book-lice, deriving their common name from the fact that 

 they are also found among papers in desks, on dusty book shelves 

 and wherever dry paperware is stored or kept. 



They differ from the true parasites by their rapid gait, the 

 others moving only at a slow crawl, and by a number of other de- 

 tails that become apparent w r hen the insects are closely examined. 

 They have minute but sharp-edged mandibles, by means of which 

 they gnaw the surfaces upon which they feed, belonging to an order 

 called the Corrodentia or gnawers. 



Their food is dried animal and vegetable matter, and they oc- 

 casionally get into collections and cause a certain amount of mis- 

 chief. When they are found among clothing they are after the 

 starch, and that is their aim also among papers. Paste is also attrac- 

 tive, and where a corner or shelf or drawer has been long neglected, 

 these insects are almost sure to be found. They rarely do any appre- 

 ciable amount of damage, but are not considered desirable, as a rule. 



Clean out infested shelves, drawers or other receptacles; use 

 gasoline freely where circumstances permit; in any case dust clean 

 in all corners and try to clean out all cracks, seams and crevices. 

 When repacking, naphthaline crystals will serve to keep boxes or 

 drawers free from the insects and to some extent this is effective even 

 on shelving. Pyrethrum or Persian insect powder is useful in 

 some cases, and in moderately tight boxes I have found a little 

 chloroform an excellent remeuy. They are sometimes common in 

 straw or cornhusk mattresses and in such cases, where the infestation 

 is very bad and the insects are really annoying, the destruction by 

 fire of the mattress filling is the most effective measure. 



