42 



NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



a general head. Most of these species are important because of 

 their infesting cereals or cereal preparations of one kind or another. 



The Indian meal moth^ has a wing spread of 3^ of an 



inch and is easily recog- 

 nized by the outer two 

 thirds of the wings being 

 reddish brown and with a 

 coppery luster. It is one 

 of the moire common of 

 our cereal pests. The 

 whitish, brown-headed 

 caterpillar lives in a large 

 variety of substances, in- 

 cluding all cereal prepa- 

 rations (and such diverse 

 materials as various nuts, 

 dried fruits, seeds etc. The caterpillar spins a light web to which 

 particles of its food and frass adhere, thus injuring much that is 

 not consumed and affording a ready means of detecting the 

 presence of the pest. 



The meal snout moth^ with its different shades of brown and 

 reddish reflections has a wing spread of about ^ of an inch. The 



Fig. 24 Indian meal moth: a, moth; b, pupa; 

 c, caterpillar from the side; d, head and e, first 

 abdominal segment of caterpillar, more enlarged. 

 (After Chittenden, U. S. Dep't Agric. Div. Ent. 

 Bui. 4. n. s. 1896) 



Fig. 25 Meal snout moth: a, adult; b, larva; c, pupa in its cocoon; twice natural 

 size. (After Chittenden, U. S. Dep't Agric. Div. Ent. Bui. 4. n, s. 1896) 



whitish caterpillar has a brown head and lives in long silken tubes. 

 It subsists mostly upon cereals though it has been recorded as feed- 

 ing upon other seeds and dried plants and displaying a preference 

 for clover. 



^Plodia interpunctella Hubn. 

 ^Pyralis farinalis Linn. 



