Deseret evening news. [volume] (Great Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1867-1920, 1908-11-21

ry on their inquiries successfully, they
| have to bring to bear on the questions
| they investigate as complete and thor
! ough a knowledge as possible OF all the
kinds OF animals and plants, and o.
| their ways of feeding, reproducing, ana
| protecting themselves in natural con-
ditions.
| One Of the most widely celebrated
and anciently detested of insect pests is
| the clothes moth 1t is the caterpillar
or this moth which is objectionable
biting off. eating and using as case
the hair Of furs and the fine tilaments
of WOODEN fabrics. Not everyone IS
able to recognize the clothes moth.
which is very small creature of Il
grayish- yellow color. The wings when
set for flying measure only half an
inch in expanse, and when the moth
is walking or at rest, shut closely to
the body so as to give it an almost
cylindrical shape, with an attenuated
snout. Much bigger moths occasional
~ get into our rooms, but do no harm.
These little clothes moths lay their eggs
on fur or wool, and the caterpillars
Which hatch from them do the dam
age. The moths themselves have no
jaws and take no food But the ca
.terpillar or grub, though soft and read ;
lily crushed has a pair of very hard,
minute dark-colored jaws. with which
it works away, cropping the fur or wool
on which it lives. The moths are seen
in houses commonly between January
and October, and it is, of course, the
object of the victimized householder to
destroy them before they can lay eggs.
or, what is more practical, to keep
their reach. Things which are in dali
~ use are not very liable to receive
a deposit OF eggs from the clothes
moth, and as a rule the enemy may be
kept at bay by daily shaking and beat
ing the things in question, and hang
nannels, etc, which are hidden away,
left quietly in drawers or eupboards.
offer the updisturbed conditions which
tho clothes moth seeks. There is no
safety for them unless they are
wrapped up or shut in with q quantity
of naphthol or of campflor, or, as Is
nowadays more usual, placed in a re-
frigerating chamber.
The little caterpillar Which does all
the damagesis of a dull white color,
with a reddish head. It Is remarkable
for the fact that ii makes a sort OF
movable tunic or case for itself out Of
the hair or wool which 1t crops, and it
crawls about protected by this case.
There are not many insects which thus
construct cases for themselves when in
the grub or caterpillar state OF life.
Such cases" must not be confused
with the very similar "cocoons" by
which some moth-grubs surround them
which some moth-grubs surround
themselves las. for instance. the silk
worm moth) when their growth Is COM
plotted, and they become quiescent and
hard. and are known as chrysalids.
Such cocoons are constructed in the
same way as the lining of the clothes
moths case by threads of silk secreted
by the caterpillar, but they are made
once for all when the grub has ceased
activity. The little clothes moth cater
pillar. on the other hand, has con-
tinually to enlarge Its tunic or case as
1t itself increases in size. There Is a
hole at the end. from which, the head
and three legs Of the caterpillar emerge,
so that it can crawl and feed f:eely.
The outer surface of the case consists
of cut lengths Of the fibre on which the
grub is living. and SO is protective In
resembling the surrounding material
and hiding the minute ravagar. Tt is
easy enough for the little grub to add
a bit to the case at the end from which
its head protrudes. and, being very ley
iblc, 1t can turn right round in the tube
and put its head out ar the other end
and secrete q bit more there, cementing
cut hairs to the outer surface. But in
order to increase the breadth of the
tube or case, the caterpillar has, from
time to time. to undertake a formidable
operation. 1t actually Sits up the case
longwise for about half its length. and
fills In the gaping space with new ma
terial; then it cuts up the opposite face
OF the same half of the tube. and puts
in a new patch there. And after that,
1t has to treat the remaining half OF
the tube in the same way. making two
more cuts. one opposite the other, and
filing in the gap in each case as before
Students of these little creatures have
amused themselves by changing the po-
sition of the caterpillar and its case,
from fur or wool of one color to fur or
wool OF another color. and in this way
the Industrious caterpillar is made to
| work in different-colored fiber In sue
cessive engagements of his case, so