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Moth |
Classification:
Kingdom: Animalia (animals)
Phylum: Arthropoda (arthropods) Class: Insecta (insects) Order: Lepidoptera (butterflies and moths) Superfamily: Tineoidea (moths) Family: Tineidae (clothing moths) Genus: Tineola Species: Tineola bisselliella (common clothing moth) Moth masks! How to make them
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What's that chewing on my socks? Argh! Clothing moths (the ones that like to eat your clothes) can be real pests. If you think you've been seeing more of them around the past few years, you're probably right! Britain, like many countries, is in the grip of a moth epidemic. Exterminators have been reporting an increase in the number of moths they're called in to take care of each year, and scientists say the populations of most kinds of moths and butterflies are steadily increasing. Most of them think it's because of warmer summers — global temperatures are rising, and moths like it hot. A baby moth, or larva, is a little wormy thing, like a caterpillar but much more disgusting. The larvae can't fly, but they sure can eat! Their favourite food is keratin, the stuff our hair's made from, so they'll go after pretty much anything made from hair or feathers. That includes things like wool (sheep hair) and fancy pillow stuffing (goose feathers). They'll even eat the clumps of human hair under your bed if you let your cleaning regime get out of hand! They especially love things that are dirty or damp, since that means extra water and food— the larvae have to make sure they get enough nutrition to last a lifetime: as adults they won't eat anything at all.When the larva's completely gorged itself on your winter duvet, it curls up in a dark place and begins to spin a cocoon made of silk around itself. When that's finished, its metamorphosis begins. Metamorphosis is a bit of a mouthful, but it just means "changing shape" in Greek. Somewhere between a few days and a few weeks later it emerges as a beautiful... moth. It graciously spreads its resplendently brown, powdery wings .... er ... never mind. The warmer the weather, the less time the moth takes to metamorphosise into an adult, so warmer temperatures mean more moths. Each female can lay around 40 or 50 eggs, so less time between generations means lots of moths really fast. The moths like to lay eggs in dark places with plenty of food— your great-grandmother's handmade carpet or your great-grandfather's morning coat might do nicely. The eggs hatch into more squirming, hungry larvae, and the cycle begins again. Isn't nature beautiful? On the Web:
Clothing moths on Wikipedia.
UK Moths, a field guide to the moths of the UK. Killerton House in Devon, was officially placed under moth alert in summer 2007! How to manage clothes moths, from the University of California's pest management site. Here's a tip: moths hate cedar wood! |
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