THE LEPIDOPTERA 237 



(Fig. 232) is of about the same size as that of the last-described species, 

 but its fore wings are uniformly yellowish. There are two generations 

 each year. The caterpillar feeds on the same materials as that of the 

 Case-making Clothes Moth and has also been known to eat cobwebs, 

 dried specimens of insects and beef meal. It does not form a case but 

 spins a sort of web of silk as it moves about. When ready to pupate 

 it forms a cocoon of silk to which particles of wool or whatever it has been 

 feeding on, are added. 



FIG. 232. FIG. 233. 



FIG. 232. Adult of the Webbing Clothes Moth (Tineola biselliella Hum.), four times 

 natural size. (From Herrick's Insects Injurious to the Household. By Permission of the 

 Macmillan Company, Publishers.) 



FIG. 233. Adult of the Tapestry Moth (Trichophaga tapetzella L.), three times natural 

 size. (From Herrick's Insects Injurious to the Household. By Permission of the Macmillan 

 Company, Publishers.) 



The Tapestry Moth (Trichophaga tapetzella L.). The Tapestry Moth 

 is not as common in this country as the other two clothes moths, and is 

 a larger insect (Fig. 233), spreading about three-quarters of an inch. It 

 seems to prefer to attack heavier and coarser cloths than the other species, 

 as well as felts, skins, etc., and is found in carriage upholstering and similar 

 places, as often as in houses. The caterpillar tunnels in its food, lining 

 the galleries somewhat with silk, and in these galleries it also pupates. 



Control for Clothes Moths. All woolen goods, furs, feathers, rugs and 

 similar materials not in regular use during the summer should be care- 

 fully aired in the sun as long as possible, and brushed, beaten or shaken 

 thoroughly before being put away in the spring. They should then be 

 placed in tight trunks, boxes or bags either of cloth or paper. After 

 being thus treated they should be safe for the summer, provided no 

 eggs nor larvae have escaped and are still present in the materials. But 

 a surer method is to thoroughly fumigate the articles when they are 

 packed away, using carbon disulfid. Thus an ordinary trunk filled with 

 such articles can be fumigated for from 24 to 48 hr., then opened and a 

 liberal supply of moth balls (naphthaline) or flake naphthaline be added 

 and the trunk finally closed. 



Repellents are of some value to keep clothes moths away from 

 materials liable to injury, but their value is largely dependent upon the 

 amount used and on whether the insects are already present. It appears 

 that while clothes moths will not usually, at least, lay their eggs on 

 materials stored with an abundant supply of naphthaline, this substance 



