Moth

MOLE, general name for butterflies of the family of true moths (Tineidae). In common usage, the name M. is applied to those Tineidae which live in human dwellings or in warehouses of clothing and fabrics. Such species are: 1) Tinea pellionella - the case-bearing M. (wingspan 10-13 mm, forewings yellowish-gray-brown with 2-3 black dots; head covered with yellow hairs); 2) T. tapetiella - the carpet M. (the main half of the forewings is brown, and the remaining part is white, hindwings are gray, head is white; wingspan 15-22 mm); 3) Tineola biselliella - the domestic or furniture M. (straw-yellow wings, wingspan 9-16 mm). Butterflies fly in houses; their larvae feed on wool and its derivatives (woolen fabrics, clothing, curtains, blankets, woolen bandages, carpets, furniture fabric, furs, etc.). T. biselliella also attacks stuffed animals, insect collections, etc. Larvae devour wool and make a case from it, gluing the gnawed hairs together with silk (T. pellionella, T. biselliella), or bore into the material, making galleries lined with silk inside it (T. tapetiella). All this leads to the complete spoilage of the substrate inhabited by moths. Butterflies usually fly in summer or spring; they lay from 50 to 90 eggs. Larvae pupate in the same material which was infected by them. To protect things from M., they are thoroughly beaten out in spring and summer in the open air, aired in the sun, and sewn into dense linen sacks or covers. A radical means for destroying moth larvae is carbon disulfide and cyanide gas. Moths also include pests of grain and flour: Tinea granella - the warehouse moth and Sitotroga cerealella - the grain moth; Ephestia Kuehniella - the warehouse meal moth and Asopia (Pyralis) farinalis - the flour moth are also warehouse pests that spoil flour, grain, dried fruits, candies, etc.