157 



is a minute insect related to the clothes moths already 

 mentioned. The adult measures about -inch across 

 the spread wings, and has a length of body of about 

 J-inch. The moths of the family to which these insects 

 belong are characterized by the presence of a very delicate 

 fringe on the margin of the hind wings (Fig. 165). 



The larva bores into the kernels of Indian corn and 

 other grains, eating out the interior, and completing the 

 larval and pupal periods of growth in this place. The 

 adult emerges through a small round hole which has been 

 made by the larva. 



This insect generally attacks stored grain, but some- 

 times the eggs are deposited on grain in the field, and the 

 feeding and breeding are continued after the grain is 

 harvested and stored. 



Control. The control of insects attacking grain, flour, 

 meal and similar substances is not particularly difficult 

 when these are stored in rooms or buildings which are 

 sufficiently tight to be fumigated. 



Carbon bisulphide, used at the rate of lfi>. for each 

 1,000 cubic feet, or in bins full of grain, at the rate of 1 Bb. 

 to every hundred bushels, is very useful in this connexion. 

 Very few warehouses in the West Indies are constructed 

 in such a manner as to allow of their being made air-tight 

 except at a considerable expense. A special fumigating 

 room might well be maintained in connexion with any 

 warehouse where a large stock of grain and food stuffs is 

 kept, in order to facilitate fumigation when necessary. 



In the household, however, where small quantities are 

 to be dealt with, and where supplies are not kept for long 

 periods, the matter is fairly simple. In the first place, the 

 store-room should be frequently thoroughly cleaned. If 

 flour, meal, and similar substances are found to 1 e infested, 

 they should be passed through a fine sieve, to remove all 

 the insects, and then placed in an oven and subjected to a 

 high temperature for 15 or 20 minutes, in order to kill the 

 eggs- 

 Seeds for planting, drugs, etc., may be successfully 

 treated by means of carbon bisulphide. 



The pea and bean weevils, though commonly called 

 weevils, are rather unlike the grain weevils already des- 

 scribed (Fig. 162), being broader in the body, with a short 

 thick snout and prominent antennae. They belong to the 



