l8 NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



of the fall brood, winter in such retreats, the moths appearing in 

 early spring. 



An examination of conditions in Albany in May 1913 resulted in 

 our finding a number of larvae, both naked and in cases, and 

 numerous recent cocoons on the outside of bags containing seed 

 corn and within the bags, kernels with webbed particles of chewed 

 grain attached thereto, were numerous. These conditions prevailed 

 in a seed warehouse where there was no provision for heating during 

 the winter. At the time of our visit there were thousands of moths 

 upon the walls of the storeroom, two or three frequently within an 

 inch of each other. On one wall there were many of the character- 

 istic cocoon masses described above. Hosts of adults were obtained 

 from material collected at this time. May 20th and 21st, a few 

 issuing as late as June 20th. Attempts to rear the insect were un- 

 successful and it was therefore impossible to ascertain the time 

 necessary for the production of a generation, though it would seem 

 probable that breeding might be continuous throughout warm 

 weather wherever conditions were favorable. 



Food habits. This insect has been recorded as infesting all kinds 

 of cereal grain, such as wheat, rye, oats and barley. There are 

 records of its having been reared from dried fruits and woody 

 fungus. Kearfott, in Smith's List of New Jersey Insects, records 

 obtaining the moths from larvae in tulip and crocus bulbs. Adults 

 apparently indistinguishable from this grain pest have been reared 

 by us from mushrooms. 



Distribution. This species is with little question a cosmopolitan 

 form and is likely to appear wherever grain is shipped or handled in 

 quantities, especially if it be stored at moderate temperatures for 

 a considerable period. It has been recorded in literature from 

 western-central Europe, northern Persia and Japan, North Africa, 

 Australia and North America. 



Control measures. This species, like other cereal pests, is more 

 likely to cause trouble in Avarehouses or other places where grains 

 are held at moderate temperatures for extended periods. Seed 

 houses are particularly liable to infestation if stock is carried over 

 from season to season. The most obvious remedy is to avoid 

 holding grains and seeds liable to attack, longer than necessary. 

 This should be supplemented by care in cleaning out crevices or 

 preventing the accumulation of grains in situations where the moths 

 can breed unchecked. These measures should ordinarily suffice. 

 Occasionally it may be necessary to resort to fumigation with either 



