STORED-GRAIN INSECTS. 



ANGOUMOIS GRAIN MOTH. 



{Gelechia cereallella Oliv.; Order, Lepidoptera.) 



Diagnosis. — Kernels of corn shelled or in the ear, grains of 

 wheat, etc., showing a small, round hole ; when a handful of the 

 grain is thrown into water, some of the kernels (the attacked ones) 

 float. 



Description and Life-history. — The adult form of the insect is 

 a small moth about one-fourth of an inch in length, and about 

 one-half an inch from tip to tip of expanded wings. As a larva 

 or grub, during which stage the damage is done, it is found bur- 

 rowing within kernels of various stored grains, eating out the 

 inside starchy portion, and leaving only a shell. 



The moths fly about at night, and lay their eggs either on stand- 

 ing grain in the field or on stored grain in bins and cribs. There 

 are probably four or five broods each year in this State. The eggs 

 are deposited at the base of the kernel, so that the larva or grub 

 on hatching makes its entrance hole at the base. This hole is 

 usually filled with excreta, so that it is not noticeable. The larva 

 after some time changes into a quiescent pupa. Just before this 



Fig. 24. Angoumois Grain Moth; a, adult; b, pupa; c, larva; d, infested wheat'grain, 

 outside appearance; e, wheat grain, opened, with larva within; /, section of kernel of 

 corn, showing larva; g, infested kernel of corn, outside appearance; h, section of 

 kernel of corn, showing pupa. 



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