Saturday Morning With Jack Tame

A few weeks ago we dealt to the clothes moths and their caterpillars;The conclusion was that their ecosystem service is to recycle keratin: hair, fur, wool, nails and skin. This is part of the decomposition job that many invertebrates do when an animal dies,Keratin is really hard to digest; Mammals and Birds can’t do that (cat’s fur-balls; owls ejected pellets, etc); these moths are therefore valued members of the RECYCLING SQUAD.This appears to be the most common carpet destroyer in Aotearoa; probably because our houses are a lot more “open” than – for instance – in Europe.Less insulation (especially in older homes), more moisture inside, not well sealed, wooden structures and draughty windowsWe also have this habit of living outside a lot: leaving windows and doors open in summer time, so that there is an unlimited indoor-outdoor flow.Carpet beetles are quite different from the clothes moths – different family of insects.Also a different life-cycle and different tactic of chewing on carpet.The adult beetles