Pantry Pest Identification

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Pest Identification

Pantry Pests

Rice weevil are reddish brown and about 1/8 inch long. There are
four light red or yellow spots on the wing covers, and the
punctures on the pronotum are round. This weevil is widely
distributed but is most common in the southern states. It can fly
and frequently infests grain both in the field and in storage.
Both adults and larvae feed on a wide variety of grains. The female
bores a hole in a grain kernel, deposits a single egg in this
depression, and seals the hole with a gelatinous fluid. She may lay
as many as 300 to 400 eggs in her average lifetime of 4 to 5
months.

The lesser grain borer is a dark brown, cylindrically shaped beetle
that is about 1/8 inch long. The head is nearly hidden by the
thorax when viewed from above.
This insect represents a transitional form insofar as its feeding
habits are concerned. The eggs are laid either singly or in
clusters in the grain mass, and larvae may enter the kernels and
develop within, or they may feed externally in the flourlike dust
that accumulates from the feeding of the adults and their fellow
larvae.

Rice Weevil

Lesser Grain Borer

The red flour beetle is primarily a pest in souther states. It is very
similar in appearance and habits to the confused flour beetle.
Adults can fly, which probably accounts for the much more
frequent appearance of this beetle in farm-stored grain. The red
flour beetle, confused flour beetle, sawtoothed grain beetle, and
Indianmeal moth are the most important pests of stored foods in
grocery stores and homes.

The sawtoothed grain beetle is a small brownish beetle about 1/8
inch long. It is easily identified by the six sawlike projections on
each side of the thorax. The female lays 50 to 300 white, shiny
eggs. They are laid either singly or in small masses in crevices in the
food supply, although they are also laid freely in such items as flour.
The sawtoothed grain beetle is found in such foods as breakfast
cereals, flour, dried fruits, macaroni, dried meats, chocolate, and
others of a similar nature. It is small enough that it can readily
penetrate tiny cracks and crevices to get into packaged
foodstuffs. When left undisturbed, a large population will develop
rapidly.

Red Flour Beetle

Sawtoothed Grain
Beetle

The cigarette beetle is the most important pest of stored tobacco.
It may also be a serious pest of items such as books, flax tow,
cottonseed meal, rice, ginger, pepper, paprika, dried fish, crude
drugs, seeds, pyrethrum powder, and dried plants.
Adults are light brown, about 1/8 inch long, and fly readily. The
head is bent downward, so the beetle has a distinct hump-backed
appearance.
The female lays about 30 eggs over a period of about 3 weeks in
newly harvested tobacco or other susceptible food items.

The drugstore beetle is a brown, cylindrical beetle about 1/8 inch
long. The adult closely resembles the cigarette beetle but does
not have the hump-backed appearance of that beetle. The
drugstore beetle has distinct longitudinal lines on the wing
covers, which the cigarette beetle lacks. Adult beetles are good
fliers.
In the home, the drugstore beetle feeds in flour, breakfast cereals,
red pepper, or almost any food it can find. One ot the most
commonly infested materials is kibbled dog food. It has even been
found in such things as books, wheat treated with strychnine, and
pharmaceutical products.

Cigarette Beetle

Drugstore Beetle

The Mediterranean flour moth is a common pest in the home and
in food processing plants. It infests such items as flour, nuts,
chocolate, beans, and dried fruits. Adults have a wing expanse of
about 1 inch. The front wings are a pale grey with wavy black lines
running across them. The mediterranean flour moth is most easily
recognized by its characteristic pose when resting. The front of
the body is raised, giving the wings a distinct downward slope with
the tip of the abdomen protruding up between them.
The larvae spin silken threads as they move about. These
threads fasten particles together in a dense mat that is very
characteristic of this insect.

Adults of the Indianmeal moth have a wingspread of about 3/4
inch. The front wings are tan on the front third and reddish
brown with a coppery luster on the back two-thirds. The
mature larva is about 1/2 inch long and a dirty white color with a
sometimes greenish or pinkish tint. The larva feeds on all kinds of
grains and grain-based products, seeds powdered milk, dog food,
crackers, candy, nuts, chocolate, dried fruits, and virtually all other
dried foodstuffs around the home. This moth is the most
commonly found stored product moth in the home.

Indian Meal
Moth

Mediterranean Flour
Moth

World of Pest Control

Pantry Pest Identification