MISCHIEF CATERPILLARS CAN DO. 
65 
like patchwork, as it would have cut down the 
hairs from each cloth, and worked them in. 
Museums are often very much injured by the 
caterpillar of the clothes moth; which will take 
up its abode in stuffed birds, and every kind of 
insect, from a butterfly to a beetle. 
Another caterpillar, of the same family*, devours 
corn that is stored up in granaries. It is so 
scarce in England that it cannot do much harm; 
but on the Continent, where it abounds, it often 
does a great deal of mischief, and causes some 
alarm. It has a curious way of tying several 
grains together; and then lives in the middle, as 
in a little tunnel, out of which it can put its 
head, and feed. 
One of these corn-eating caterpillars has 
rather a different way of proceeding. The 
mother moth lays about twenty eggs at once; 
but as soon as the caterpillars make their appear¬ 
ance they divide, and each one chooses a separate 
grain to live in. It makes its way into the 
heart of the grain; taking care not to gnaw or 
disfigure the skin, so that the farmer thinks all 
is safe, for he cannot see the tiny hole, by which 
the caterpillar has crept in. But he will find out 
his mistake by and bye; for the destructive little 
* Tinea granella. 
