242 INSECTS 



As for the various repellents like camphor, naphthaline, 

 tar, etc., these are all of some value and in proportion 

 to the tightness of the drawer, trunk or other recep- 

 tacle in which they are used; but none are implicitly 

 to be relied upon if the fabric is already infested, or if 

 the container is not reasonably tight. Gasoline will 

 kill every caterpillar that it touches and is the best 

 material to use where rugs, carpets, hangings or drape- 

 ries that cannot for any reason be removed are to be 

 dealt with. 



We have further, among the Lepidoptera, and in 

 this same group of Tineids, other moths and their 

 larvae that feed on our stored products, but hardly in 

 our houses, and such are the Indian meal moth, Plodia 

 inter punctella, the Angoumois grain moth, Gelechia 

 cererella, the meal snout moth, Pyralis farinalis, and the 

 like. They scarcely come under this head for detailed 

 consideration; but should be mentioned to call atten- 

 tion to the fact that they may be found among products 

 often stored yet hardly to be considered as inhabi- 

 tants of the household itself. 



In the order Hymenoptera the ants are not infre- 

 quent invaders of our domestic economy. Sometimes 

 they come in merely on exploring expeditions from 

 outside, with no thought of remaining. It is merely 

 part of the hunt for food, and if something is found, a 

 squad is soon at hand to clean it out. Among such 

 visitors comes the large black carpenter ant, which 

 nests in partly decayed logs, branches of trees and the 

 like, and forages for a considerable distance round about. 

 A house near a large nest is likely to be so frequently 

 visited as to make them a nuisance, and to abate this 

 the colony should be located and their home destroyed. 

 This general recommendation applies to any species 

 which comes in as a visitor in this same way. 



