Caterpillar found with hides

[David Smith]

Hello,
    Your description sounds like a Tineidae to me. Some of the species are
known to feed on hides. According to Alvah Peterson in "Larvae of Insects"
Prolegs occur on segments 3, 6, and 10 bearing uniordinal crochets arranged
in a uniserial circle. Hope this helps. Most are distinctly under 10 mm.
            David Smith
"Julie Stahlhut" <starbug_56 at yahoo.com> wrote in message
news:37fd7631.0110081243.2df7df18 at posting.google.com...
> Hey, all ...
>
> I'm trying to ID some small caterpillars that a FOAF retrieved from a
> package containing animal-hide products.  They're definitely lep
> larvae -- small white caterpillars ranging from about 6 to 10 mm long,
> with brown, well-sclerotized heads.   They've been somewhat desiccated
> and flattened out in transit, and I can't find the spiracles at all
> under a dissecting microscope, which makes keying them out difficult.
>
> They have well developed true legs.  Prolegs are present on A3-A6 and
> A10.  I can't see the A10 pair too well because the bodies are too
> crumpled, but the ventral prolegs have crochets in a lateropenellipse.
>   Crochets look uniordinal to me.
>
> If anyone knows of a caterpillar fitting this description and likely
> to be found among animal hides, I'd appreciate your letting me know!
>
> Thanks,
> Julie Stahlhut



 
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