2 BULLETIE" 783, U. S. DEPAETMENT OF AGEICULTUEE. 



laid its eggs in the beans, which are sometimes warehoused for several 

 months, in the country from which they were shipped. During this 

 period of storage additional generations of larvaj are hatched which 

 destroy large quantities of the cacao beans or render them unfit 

 for sale. The rice moths have been found most numerous in the 

 older beans and also occur abundantlj^ in cocoa nibs, in cocoa in 

 powdered form, in refuse cocoa dust, and in ground cacao shells, 

 so that they may be said to feed on any form of the cacao bean from 

 the shells to the finished or edible article, cocoa or chocolate in 

 powder, in cakes, and in confections, whether the substance is sweet- 

 ened or unsweetened. 



Later moths and lar- 

 vae of this species were 

 received in rice from 

 different sources which 

 will be mentioned here- 

 after. 



This species works in 

 much the same manner 

 as do the fig moth {Eph- 

 estia cautella Walk.) 

 and the Indian-meal 

 moth {Plodia inter- 

 functeZla Hbn.), form- 

 ing a still stronger 

 thread than do these re- 



FiG. 1. — Diagram showing wing venation of the rice moth -latecl lOrmS, and mat- 

 (Gorcyra cephalonica). (After Durrant and Bever- ^ij^cr the infested ma- 

 terial more closely. In- 

 deed, this thread or webbing in the case of powdered cocoa becomes 

 so dense that in close quarters the moths when emerging are scarcely 

 able to make their exit. As a consequence of this and of the further 

 fact that the food suppl}^ becomes too dry to be eaten, many of the 

 larvae perish. This is true not only under artificial conditions in the 

 laboratory but has been noted in manufacturers' storerooms. 



DESCRIPTIVE. 



THE MOTH. 



While, as previously stated, the rice moth resembles in certain re- 

 spects some of our common moths which breed in stored cereals, 

 dried fruits, and similar material, it does not belong to the same lepi- 

 dopterous group, being a member of a different family, the Pyrali- 

 dae, and subfamily, the Galleriinae, and closeh^ related to a small 

 group of moths which are best known as occurring in the combs of 



