Final answer:
Scraps of paper and cloth collected behind a shelf are likely indicative of mice, as these materials offer shelter and food sources for them to thrive.
Step-by-step explanation:
Scraps of paper and cloth piled behind a shelf could be the sign of C. mice. In the past, some people believed in spontaneous generation, a theory that living organisms could arise from non-living matter. For example, a 17th century Flemish scientist, Jan Baptista van Helmont, proposed that mice could arise from rags and wheat kernels left in a container. In reality, such conditions offer perfect shelter and food sources for mice to thrive. Other creatures such as house fly, dragonflies, termites, beetles, ants, cockroaches, grasshoppers, crickets, caterpillars are typically not known to create such piles for nesting or sheltering purposes.