CLOTHES MOTH. 393 



harm ; but their young are doubly mischievous, firstly, because 

 they devour the fabrics in which they live, and secondly, because 

 they cut up the cloth, fur, or feathers, in order to obtain mate- 

 rial for their home. Possibly for the sake of concealment as 

 well as protection, the larva instinctively forms a habitation 

 which entirely covers its white body, and which is almost im- 

 perceptible to the eye, because it is formed of the same mate- 

 rials as the fabric on which it lies. 



The habitation is tubular in form, though not exactly cyHn 

 drical, being rather larger in the middle than at the ends, and 

 open so as to allow the extremities of the caterpillar to protrude. 

 One object in this structure is, to enable the inmate to turn in its 

 cell, an operation which must necessarily be performed whenever 

 the tubular home is enlarged. The process of enlargement is 

 continually going on, and it is in consequence of this proceeding 

 that so much material is used. 



The manner in which the little creature enlarges its home is 

 as follows : — 



Without quitting its tubular home, it cuts a longitudinal slit 

 throughout half its length or so, and opens the case to the re- 

 quired width. It then proceeds to weave a triangular piece of 

 webbing, with which it fills up the opened slit, and rejoins the 

 edges with perfect accuracy. As one end of the case is now 

 larger than the other, the caterpillar turns its attention to the 

 other end, cuts it open, widens it, and fills up the gap pre- 

 cisely as it had done to the first part. When the soft tube is 

 sufficiently widened, it is lengthened by the addition of rings to 

 each extremity. 



By taking advantage of this peculiar method of house-making, 

 observant persons have forced the Clothes Moths to make their 

 tubular homes of any colour and almost of any pattern. By 

 shifting the caterpillar from one coloured cloth to another, the 

 required tints are produced, and the pattern is gained by watch- 

 ing the creature at work, and transferring it at the proper 

 season. For example, a very pretty specimen can be produced 

 by turning out of its original home a half-grown caterpillar, 

 and putting it on a piece of bright green cloth. After it has 



