RELATION TO THE HOUSEHOLD 



239 



for being made of the material among which the insect 

 feeds, it is not usually conspicuous. The divergence 

 from the usual vegetable feeding habit of caterpillars 

 is a specialization that is quite marked, because it is 

 not only a feeding upon animal tissue but upon dried 

 or dead animal tissue. In Chapter VII it was pointed 

 out that some moths lived in the heavy fur of certain 

 animals so that they became literally moth-eaten dur- 

 ing their lifetime, and this habit of feeding upon such 



FIG. 113. A clothes moth, Tinea pellionella, with its caterpillar in and 

 out of case. 



material when removed from the animal is only a little 

 further specialization in the same direction. It fur- 

 nishes, also, an explanation of why woollens and ma- 

 terials made of animal hair or fibre, in whole or in part, 

 are subject to moth attacks, while linens and cottons 

 are practically exempt. 



The "moth" itself, or " miller, " is a small, glisten- 

 ing, light yellow creature, with very slender, long 

 fringed wings, and it may be seen fluttering about in 

 the dusk of early evening in our rooms during late 

 spring or early summer. If when a closet door is opened 

 at this period a number of these moths flutter out, 



