213 



of her eggs, working her way into dark corners and deep into the folds 

 of garments, apparently choosing by instinct the least conspicuous 

 places. From these eggs hatch the white, soft-bodied larvae (see Fig. 

 40/)), each of which begins immediately to make a case for itself from the 

 fragments of the cloth upon which it feeds. The case is in the shape 

 of a hollow roll or cylinder and the interior is lined with silk (see Fig. 

 40c). As they grow they enlarge these cases by adding material to either 

 end and by inserting gores down the sides which they slit open for the 

 purpose. The larva reaches its full growth toward winter and then, 

 crawling into some yet more protected spot, remains there torpid 

 through the winter within its case, which is at this time thickened and 

 fastened at either end with silk. I have known these larvae in autumn 

 to leave the carpet upon which they had fed, drag their heavy cases up 

 a 15 foot wall and fasten them in the angle of the cornice of the ceiling. 

 The transformation to pupa takes 

 place within the case the follow- 

 ing spring and the moths soon 

 afterward issue. Such is the life 

 round of the first species. It 

 feeds in all woolen cloths and 

 also in hair cloth, furs, and feath- 

 ers. Curiously enough a little 

 parasite sometimes enters the 

 house and lays its eggs in the 

 destructive larvae. The accom- 

 panying drawing (Fig. 41) was 

 made from specimens received 

 from Michigan. It may be known as Hyperacmus tinew. 



The next species — Tineola biselliella — makes no case, but when ready 

 to transform constructs a cocoon mainly from fragments of the material 



upon which it has been feeding. It 

 spins a certain amount of silk, how- 

 ever, wherever it goes. It is the 

 most common species at Washing- 

 ton, and, so far as my experience 

 goes, in the Southern States. It is 

 generally fond of the same sub- 

 stances upon which the former 

 feeds, and is quite as voracious. 

 A curious instance was brought to 

 my attention in 1884, in which a 

 large stock of feather dusters was 

 completely ruined by this species, 

 while I have often had fine camel's- hair brushes ruined by it when they 

 have been left lying loose in drawers. Its life round is much the same 

 as that of the species just described, but it is commonly believed that 

 15035— Nos. 7 and 8 2 



Fig. 41.— Hyperacmus tinece— enlarged (after Riley). 



Fig. 42. -Tineola biselliella : a, adult; b, larva; 

 c, cocoon and empty pupa-skin— enlarged (after 

 Riley). 



