Subject: The pumpkin seed looking bug
Geographic location of the bug: Brownsville TX
Date: 12/23/2018
Time: 10:54 PM EDT
Your letter to the bugman: I have seen these things several times and at first thought it was a pumpkin seed, but as it began to crawl I figured it sooooo was NOT one!! I could really use your help, never seen one befor,. They just began appearing inside house, not all move though. I have tried looking them up, but have not found anything that might help. I also have a video of it moving. Thanks…
How you want your letter signed: Odette
Dear Odette,
Because others have also compared its appearance to a pumpkin seed, we suspected correctly from your subject line that you were inquiring about a Case Bearing Moth Larva, a common household intruder found globally. In the home, they often feed on debris like shed pet hair, but they are also known to feed on pet foods and other organic materials.
I happened to be reading an account last night of researches the great French entomologist Réaumur carried out on the case bearing moths that damage woolen clothes. Of course people had known about ’em for a long time as witness the line in the Bible about putting your treasures in heaven where neither moth nor rust consume; but Réaumur described their life cycle, discovered how they made their cases, and came up with practical ways to protect clothes from their attacks. Réaumur was the What’s That Bug man of the 18th Century.
Thanks so much for this interesting historical perspective.