Nearly a year ago my attention was especially called to the insects which prey upon woolen fabrics, and which are generally known as “clothes moths.” In going over the literature of the subject at that time and comparing it with the notes which I had made from time to time, I became convinced that what we have in our books pertaining to these insects is very imperfect and faulty, and that there was need of a thorough revision. This held true, not only of the species which destroy clothing, but also of many other species in the family Tineidœ.

I therefore obtained, by purchase and otherwise, as large a collection as possible from all parts of the United States—over twelve hundred specimens—and sent them to Lord Walsingham, in England, for comparison with the European species. This collection has just been returned to me, and the notes and descriptions which his lordship has made on it will soon appear in the Trans. Am. Ent. Soc.