CLOTHES MOTHS 341 



caterpillar of this moth which is objectionable biting off, 

 eating, and using to weave a case the hair of furs and the 

 fine filaments of woollen fabrics. Not every one is able 

 to recognise the clothes moth, which is a very small 

 creature of a greyish-yellow colour. The wings when set 

 for flying measure only half an inch in expanse, and when 

 the moth is walking or at rest, shut closely to the body 

 so as to give it an almost cylindrical shape, with an 

 attenuated snout. Much bigger moths occasionally get 

 into our rooms, but do no harm. These little clothes 

 moths lay their eggs on fur or wool, and the caterpillars 

 which hatch from them do the damage. The moths 

 themselves have no jaws and take no food. But the 

 caterpillar or grub, though soft and readily crushed, has 

 a pair of very hard, minute, dark-coloured jaws, with 

 which it works away, cropping the fur and wool on which 

 it lives. The moths are seen in houses commonly between 

 January and October, and it is, of course, the object of 

 the victimised householder to destroy them before they 

 can lay eggs, or, what is more practical, to keep woollen 

 and fur clothes away from their reach. Things which 

 are in daily use are not very liable to receive a deposit of 

 eggs from the clothes moth, and as a rule the enemy may 

 be kept at bay by daily shaking and beating the things 

 in question, and hanging them up in the air. But coats, 

 flannels, etc., which are hidden away, left quietly in 

 drawers or cupboards, offer the undisturbed conditions 

 which the clothes moth seeks. There is no safety for 

 them unless they are wrapped up or shut in with a quan- 

 tity of naphtol or of camphor, or, as is nowadays more 

 usual, placed in a refrigerating chamber. 



The little caterpillar which does all the damage is of 

 a dull white colour, with a reddish head. It is remarkable 

 for the fact that it makes a sort of movable tunic or case 

 for itself out of the hair or wool which it crops, and it crawls 



