I recently removed my winter clothes from storage, where they had
been in large cardboard boxes.  I opened the largest box and right
on top of a flannel sheet was (I'm pretty sure) a fat full-fledged
dermestid larva.  It looked just like the ones I sometimes see in
other people's insect collections, but my collection was never stored
in the same building as the clothes.  I squeezed it a bit and it was
alive, so I shrieked and dropped it.  I didn't find any others, but
I'm rather worried now.  Do dermestids eat clothes?  Nearly all
my clothes are cotton or synthetic, although there might be some wool
blends in there somewhere.  (All the pure wool was bagged with
mothballs, so  the larva couldn't have come from there.)
Bleah...
Thanks,
Liz Day
 
Indianapolis, Indiana, USA
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"It takes all kinds to make a world, but did you ever think
the percentages were wrong?"