758 EXPEEIMENT STATION EECOED. 



Insects in a quantity of castor cake and stored grains in the central seed 

 store (Dcpt. Agr. Bengal, Quart. Jour., ^ (1911), No. J,, pp. 213-216).— T\i\b is a 

 brief report of insects affecting stored gi'ain in Bengal. 



The Indian-meal moth and " weevil-cut " peanuts, C. H. Popenoe ( U. S. 

 Dcpt. Agr., Bur. Ent. Circ. l-'f2, pp. 6, fig. 1). — The advent of the mechanical 

 thresher has resulted in a much larger percentage of broken peanut shells, it 

 being estimated that between 20 and 30 per cent of the peanuts are injured in 

 this manner. Consequently they become seconds and in nearly every case 

 infestation follows in a very short time after they are stored. In a footnote, 

 F. H. Chittenden estimates the loss to the i^eanut dealer at 20 per cent, or at a 

 conservative estimate $3,000,000, for 1910. This is based on the assumption 

 that the percentage of the insect injury is the same as that to stored cereals. 

 The practice of piling sacked nuts high in the storage warehouses, which makes 

 it necessary for workmen to climb upon the stacks, thus breaking many more, 

 also increases the percentage of infestation through affording ingress to the 

 pests. 



The Indian-meal moth {Plodia interpunctella), a common and well-known 

 pest, habitually frequenting all places where foodstuffs and cereals may be 

 stored, is the insect chiefly concerned. " In addition to the Indian-meal moth, 

 several other insects are frequently found to injure peanuts in storage. These, 

 in the order of their importance, are as follows: The rust-red flour bettle 

 (Triholium navale), the saw-toothed grain beetle (Silvanus surinamensis) , the 

 cadelle (Tenebroidcs mauritanicus) , the fig moth (Ephestia cautella), and the 

 Mediterranean flour moth (E. JcueJmiella). The 3 former species are capable 

 of cutting through the shells of peanuts, but rarely occur in such numbers as 

 to be injurious to them." 



Descriptions are given of the stages of the Indian-meal moth, its life history 

 and habits. It has a number of natural enemies, of which the 2 hymenop- 

 terous parasites Omorgus frumcntarius and Hadrobracon hebetor are the most 

 important. Remedial measures are considered under the headings of heat and 

 fumigation. The author reports having used the heat treatment very success- 

 fully in a peanut mill in Virginia. 



" Suflicient radiator surface should be supplied to obtain a temperature of 

 120 to 125° F. A few courses of IJ in. pipe placed along the side walls 

 should easily bring about the desired results. ... To permit the most effec- 

 tive penetration of the heat, the bags of nuts should be piled only a few feet 

 deep, as experience has shown that some time is required for the peanuts 

 within the piles to be raised to a uniform high temperature. The building 

 should be closed tightly and the temperature raised to 120° F., remaining at 

 this point for at least 6 hdtirs. . . . The temperature shoiild not be raised 

 above 125° F. in the case of peanuts, as experiments have shown that a slight 

 degree of blanching, or slipping of the ' skin ' takes place in shelled Spanish 

 nuts exposed to such a heat, . . . Germination is likewise unaffected, pea- 

 nuts exposed 6 hours to a temperature of 140° germinating better and more 

 quickly than those unhealed. A temperature of 116° is fatal to insect life in 

 a short time, larvae, pupfe, and adults of the Indian meal moth dying in less 

 than i hour, when exposed." 



Care should be taken that the factory is kept free from an accumulation of 

 moths during the summer. To this end. all cars of infested peanuts coming 

 into the factory should be fumigated before entrance. Preventive measures 

 to be made use of by the gi'ower include the proper selection and operation of 

 the peanut picker or thresher and the disposal of all nuts before June 1. 



Heat as a means of controlling mill insects, G. A. Dean (Jour. Econ. Ent., 

 Jf (1911), No, 2, pp. 142-158, charts 9). — The author reports laboratory and mill 



