178 



♦ KNOWLEDGE ♦ 



[June 1, 1887. 



insect is thus secured from molestation during the period of 

 its seclusion. 



Even at this stage of its life it is a lively little being, any 

 disturbance of its retreat being resented by petulant 

 wrigglings of its brown, mummy-like form. When the 

 time for its final change arrives, it shifts itself along to the 

 entrance of the cocoon by means of tiny hooks on its back, 

 and then works its way out of its pupa case, which it leaves 

 projecting from the end of the cocoon. The larva; may be 

 found in our houses from February to September inclusive, 

 and the moths from April to November. 



The next species is T. tapctzella (fig. 1). This is con- 

 siderably larger than the two preceding, and very different 



FXG. 1. 



-Tinea Tapbtzella. 



from them in colouration, though sufficiently similar in shape 

 to show that it should be referred to the same genus. When 

 the wings are fully spread, the moth has an expanse of | inch, 

 and it may very easily be recognised by the startling 

 contrast in the distribution of its colours. The fore-wings 

 are black over their basal third part, and then over the rest 

 of their area creamy white, slightly mottled with darker, 

 especially at the tip. The hind-wings are shining brownish- 

 grey and have long fringes. When the wings are closed, 

 they are laid close alongside the body, and then, of course, 

 no trace of the hind pair is seen. We have simply a long 

 narrow object with the front part black and the hinder 

 white. 



This insect, in its larval condition, delights in coarser food 

 than its predecessors, and devours with avidity such fare as 

 carpets, horse-cloths, &c. The thickness and more sub- 

 stantial character of this food affords the grubs protection 

 also, and renders the construction of a separate case un- 

 necessary — as they burrow into the cloth, it is thick enough 

 to conceal them, and they, therefore, only care to line their 

 burrows with silk. In these tunnels they can reside and 

 feed quite secure from observation. This insect is sometimes 

 called the " tapestry moth," from 'the fact of its depredations 

 occurring chiefly in such materials; the linings of carriages, 

 too, are sometimes destroyed by it. The caterpillar may be 

 found in April and May, and the moth in June and July. 

 From its habits one may easily gather that it is less 

 frequently met with in the house than in outbuildings, such 

 as stables, coach-houses, ifcc. The writer once found quite a 

 family of them in a piece of carpet that was used as a 

 bandage round a young sapling in a garden, to prevent the 

 cord by which it was tied up from injuring the bark. 



Lastly, there is T. rusticella. This is less strictly a clothes- 

 moth than the others ; it seems to be in no way particular 

 as to the exact character of its diet, provided it be of an 

 animal nature and sufficiently dry, and in consequence it has 

 been found in the most unlikely places. For instance, Mr. 

 C. G. Barrett one winter collected a number of old nests 

 belonging to chaffinches and other birds of that sort, nests 

 that are largely composed of wool and hair, and on keeping 

 them till the summer he obtained from them large numbers 

 of Tinese, the larvae of which had been feeding on the 

 matei-ials of which the nests were composed, and amongst 

 these were some specimens of the above insect. Again, it 

 was found by Mr. C. Eales in a more unsavoury locality 

 still. He one day came across the dried-up corpse of a cat, 

 and observing that it contained larvse and pupje of some 

 moths, he kept it till the perfect insects appeared. Many of 



these turned out to be T. rusticella. In its natural state, 

 therefore, this insect is clearly a devourer of animal refuse — 

 in fact, one of nature's most useful scavengers ; and if we 

 introduce animal matters, though of far less objectionable 

 character than these, into our houses, we need not be sur- 

 prised that sometimes the scavenger follows them, intent 

 upon the fulfilment of its natural function. 



The caterpillar is, as usual, a whitish creature with a 

 brown head. The moth, which is about the size of T. hisel- 

 liella, is dark greyish-brown on its fore-wings, slightly tinged 

 with purplish, and minutely speckled with yellowish dots ; it 

 has also a pale transparent spot on the disc of the wing 

 before the middle, and another similar but smaller one at 

 the outermost lower angle of the wing. 



Various methods have been suggested for getting rid of 

 these pests ; this, however, is hardly the place for discussing 

 the merits of rival insecticides. But there is one ingenious 

 method which, if not very practicable, is yet so interesting 

 that it must receive a passing notice. It is well known that 

 silkworms are a prey to a ceitain disease called " muscardine," 

 which arises from the growth of a parasitic fungus. The 

 idea occurred to Balbiani that if the larv« of clothes-moths 

 could be inoculated with this disease, the result would be 

 similar to what it was amongst the silkworms — their numbers 

 would be speedily and rapidly diminished, and a benefit 

 would thus be conferred upon mankind. He accordingly 

 reduced the remains of some " muscardined " silkworms to 

 a powder, and laid his trap by sprinkling this bait over 

 clothes infested with the destructive larva;. The grubs ate 

 of the fatal meal, developed the disease, and miserably 

 perished. The powder, however, was found to lose its 

 efficacy to some extent if kept for any length of time. 



These are all the insects that can fairly be called " clothes- 

 moths " ; but there are several other small moths that occur 

 in our houses, and, being general feeders, are destructive in 

 other ways, though they are generally credited with designs 

 upon our woollen fabrics. Some of these belong to the .same 

 extensive genus as the clothes-moths proper — e.g., Tinea 

 fernor/inella (very similar to rusticella, but smaller), fusci- 

 puncfella (also somewhat similar, but without the trans- 

 parent spot), misella (yellowish brown, with paler markings 

 and two dark dots), and niyrijnmctella (yellowish, with 

 several blackish spots). Some of these occur not unfre- 

 quently, but others are rare. 



But there are two insects which greatly exceed in numbers 

 both these and most other household species, and are often 

 more abundant and universally distributed than the clothes- 

 moths themselves. They are Endrosis fenestrdla and 

 QSarphora pseudo-spretella, both repi-esentatives of a new 

 and very extensive family of Tinese, the Gelechidce. A 

 glance is sufficient to show this ; for first, in rest, the 

 wings lie flat along the back instead of by the sides, as in 

 the Tineidce ; secondly, a hand-lens shows that the head, 

 instead of being crowned with the erect, hairlike plumes of 

 a Tineid, is covered, at any rate in front, with broad, flat- 

 lying scales, which suggest the idea of their having been 

 brushed over the forehead like the " fringe " of a modern 

 English female ; and thirdly, there is a pair of enormously 

 large curved palpi, much longer than those of the Tineida, 

 pointing upwards from beneath the head like a pair of 

 miniature bull's horns. 



The former of these insects (fig. 2) is literally ubiquitous. 

 From appearing usually on windows, it has received the name 

 Jenesti-ella, or " window moth ; " but it has also been called 

 lacteella, or " milk moth," in consequence of being so fre- 

 quently found drowned in the contents of milkjugs. 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 



