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ORGANIC MATERIA MEDICA AND PHARMACOGNOSY 



only the wing-covers) is finely striated (see a, Fig. 265). The head is 

 almost concealed by the thorax, the front margin of the thorax reaching 

 to the eyes. The head is also bent strongly downward. The young, or 

 larva, of this beetle is a small white grub with three pairs of legs, and strong, 

 dark brown jaws. The grub when lying at rest usually assumes a semicir- 

 cular position (see c, Fig. 265). They feed voraciously on the drug, grow 

 rapidly, and, after two or three weeks, pupate, and soon change into the 

 perfect beetle. The beetle also feeds upon the drug by means of strong 

 biting jaws, and the females soon lay eggs, from which another genera- 

 tion of larvae, or grubs, hatch. The whole life of the insect is thus passed 



FIG. 265. Sitodrepa panicea Linn6. The com- 

 mon drug-eating insect, a, Dorsal view of 

 adult beetle, b. Side view of adult beetle, c, 

 Larva. (Smith.) 



FIG. 266. Ginger root attacked by 

 Sitodrepa panicea Linn6. {Original.) 



in the can or jar containing the drug. The presence of the pest is shown 

 by the collecting of a considerable amount of powder on the bottom of 

 the can or jar (if the drug is a root, stem, or leaf), and by the presence 

 in the drug of many small holes eaten by the insects (see Fig. 266). Often 

 the little brown beetles may be seen crawling about in the jar. If the 

 drug is a powder, this is the easiest means of detecting their presence. 

 Sitodrepa panicea is almost omnivorous in the pharmacal store-room. In 

 the store-rooms of the department of pharmacy, University of Kansas, 

 Sitodrepa panicea has been found feeding on such drugs as the following: 

 Columbo, aconite, mustard, althaea, belladonna, poke root, ginseng, 

 angelica, etc. 



Still other species of the family Ptinidae feed on drugs: Lasioderma 

 serricorne, a small brown beetle very like Sitodrepa panicea, but more 

 robust, and with the Wing-covers smooth and not striated, although cov- 



