I mean seriously no cotton, no leather, just wool .. and why does moth balls and cedar keep them away?
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Wool is made from keratin, which is made of proteins. its a full meal if you have the enzymes to digest it. leather is bound together and highly processed while cotton is just cellulose which is very hard to digest.
Most plants are poisonous especially to bugs so the scent of them keeps the bugs away. Moth balls slowly sublimate so they fill closed spaces with poison that kills bugs but its too weak to harm larger things
wool is protein and it’s easier to eat than leather if your mouth is that small. moth balls and cedar contain chemicals toxic to moths
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Moths don’t eat wool, moth worms do. They eat the proteins in the fabric, like a caterpillar would a leaf. The worms eat the keratin found in feathers, wool and felt side of the leather. Cotton is a plant product and doesn’t have keratin. And they can eat leather but leather is treated with a lot of chemicals to cure making it harder to eat. People don’t usually notice the moth worms but they do see the moths fly out after metamorphosis so they assume it’s the moths.
Most moths actually eat nectar from flowers.
Moth balls work cause they just solid version of an insecticide. As it slowly evaporates it release an gas that kills the moth worms.
It is a specific species, Tineola bisselliella. This particular moth has an ability to digest keratin, although it can feed on other foods. Since feathers, fur, wool and silk are made of keratin these substances are eaten.
Keep in mind that the moth can’t eat anything. It doesn’t feed at all and lives only to reproduce. The worm like larvae are the ones that feed. So, moth detects keratin. Flies in and lays eggs. Eggs hatch and larva emerge. Larva eat keratin, making holes in your woolen sweaters and carpet. Larva then pupate into moths. When you shake out your now holey sweater the moths emerge to seek makes and new sources of keratin to lay eggs on.
Before humans the moths probably sought out shed fur, like areas where ungulates lose their winter fur in clumps.
Thanks for the responses … it’s really fascinating… i didn’t know about the larvae but does remind me of one time I steamed one of my pea coats and a little worm came out of a hole in the jacket… I guess it was a moth larvae .. kinda crazy
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