68 



XEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



The meal worms are rather common pests of meal and other 

 stable foods. It is the larvae and pupae of these insects which 

 are reared in quantity by bird supply houses. The large brown or 

 dark-brown parent beetles have a length of about five-eighths of 

 an inch and are frequently found about houses. There are two 

 closely allied species, the yellow meal worm^* and the dark meal 

 worm^^ Both occur under similar conditions and have nearly the 

 same habits. The beetles are frequently attracted to light and 

 normally are more abundant in the spring. The young or grubs 

 are an inch or more in length, cylindric, yellowish brown, and 

 require about 3 months to complete their growth. In addition to 



Fig- 33 Cadelle, beetle and larva, from above, enlarged. (Author's illustration) 



meal and similar products, these insects have been found in 

 adulterated black pepper, commercial soda ash, phosphate fertili- 

 zers, in the latter instance undoubtedly feeding upon organic matter, 

 possibly cotton seed meal, a well-known food of these two species. 

 The Cadelle^^ is another inhabitant of grain bins. The beetle 

 is rather stout, shining dark brown, about three-eighths of an inch 

 long and possesses an unusual life duration, since adults have been 

 kept alive nearly 2 years. The peculiar grub or larva, over an 

 inch long, is easily recognized by its flattened appearance and the 

 dark-brown plates just behind the head and at the opposite extrem- 

 ity of the body. It requires nearly a year to complete the life 

 cycle. This species, according to Chittenden,. is predaceous as well 

 as herbivorous. The grub has a faculty for turning up in unex- 

 pected places as, for example, in milk which may have been 

 adulterated with some farinaceous material. It has been found in 

 white hellebore and even in granulated sugar. 



84Tenebrio molitor Linn. 

 ^^T. obscurus Linn. 

 ^^Tenebrioides mauritanica Linn. 



