INSECTS INJURIOUS TO CEREALS 



257 



ings of rooms with the end of its abdomen curved over its 

 back. 



The larva and its habits. — The larva is somewhat 

 similar in appearance to those of the other two cereal 

 moths. It is whitish or flesh-colored, somewhat darker 

 at either end, and its head is reddish. 



It builds long tubes in the material on which it is feed- 

 ing by binding the particles together with silk. In these 

 tubes it lives and wholly 

 conceals itself. When the 

 larva has completed its 

 growth it leaves the tube 

 and finds a place in which 

 to spin its cocoon, within 

 which it transforms to a 

 pupa. 



It would seem that the 

 life history of this insect 

 has not been carefully 

 worked out, and there remains considerable uncertainty 

 regarding the length of time necessary for a generation 

 or the number of generations in a year. Chittenden 

 says that some experiments he was then conducting 

 went to prove at least four generations a year. He had 

 carried the species through all of its stages in the spring 

 of the year in eight weeks. 



Methods of control. — When this pest is found in 

 stored grain it can be destroyed by the use of carbon bisul- 

 fide. The liquid should be poured in a shallow dish 

 and set on top of the grain in the box or bin. The receptacle 

 should then be covered tightly with old blankets and 

 allowed to stand two or three days. 



Fig. 79. — The meal snout-moth 

 (X 2|.) and larva. 



