BILL-BUGS; GRAIN-WEEVILS. 



219 



will generally serve to reduce if it does not entirely prevent in- 

 jury-" 



Some other closely related beetles "are only too well known. 

 They are the grain and rice- weevils, belonging to the genus Calan- 

 dra. These insects, similar in shape to those just mentioned but 

 hardly exceeding one-eighth of an inch in length, infest stored 

 grain of all kinds and have become almost cosmopolitans, being 

 brought to nearly all parts of the globe by commerce. They are 

 black or brownish-red, sometimes marked with lighter-colored 



Fig. 234. — Calandra granaria, Linn.; a, beetle; b, larva; c, ptipa; d, C. oryza. 

 Linn.— All enlarged. After Division of Entomology, U. S. Department of Agriculture. 



Spots as indicated in the illustration (Fig. 234(/). Wherever 

 grain of all kinds, or rice, is stored for any length ot time, these 

 insects are sure to be attracted, and are as certainlv apt to mul- 

 tiply very rapidly, .^o that before long the grain-bins are overrun 

 by myriads of them. In some mills, breweries and similar places 

 they are so numerous that they become a ver}- great pest, and it 

 is difficult to get rid of them in such places. The only preven- 

 tion is cleanliness and the rapid removal of stored grain. They 

 prefer dark places, therefore a flood of sunlight will prevent their 

 rapid increase. After removal of the grain all cracks should be 



