INSECT PESTS 245 



is reported by Fronk and Dobbins (59) from soil applications of 1 to 1 3^ 

 pounds gamma benzene hexachloride, 5 pounds parathion, 40 pounds 

 toxaphene, or 67 pounds DDT. Additional research is needed on soil 

 insects, their economic status, and control. 



Insects Attacking Peanuts and Peanut Products in Storage 



A host of insects attack peanuts and peanut products in storage, some 

 times causing severe damage. Some damage may occur in storage on 

 farms, but the major losses are to buyers, processors, wholesalers, and re- 

 tailers of peanuts and products derived from them. Insect infestations are 

 much heavier in peanuts after they are shelled (121, 17). Salted peanuts, 

 peanut meal, peanut butter, candies and other confections are readily in- 

 fested by insects and the peanut trade must continuously combat these 

 pests. 



Many of the forms infesting grain, milled products, dried fruits and 

 other foods also attack peanuts. The exact number of species infesting 

 peanuts is not known, but over 50 species infest grain and grain products 

 (11). Among the more important stored-products pests attacking peanuts 

 are Indian meal moth, almond moth, saw-toothed grain beetle, flour 

 beetles, cadelle, dermestids and others. 



So far as the writer is aware, no adequate estimates are available 

 on annual insect damage to peanuts and their products in storage. A 3- 

 million-dollar loss in the United States was estimated in 1911 (121). In 

 1943 the Food and Drug Administration (58) reported that, of the 

 7 million pounds of imported nuts^* examined in 1943, over 5 million 

 pounds were denied entry because they were wormy or damaged. The 

 major reason for the high percentage of rejections was insect infestation 

 in large shipments of peanuts from Africa. 



Different species of insects infesting stored peanuts and peanut prod- 

 ucts vary greatly in actual damage caused. However, heavy insect infesta- 

 tions render the products unfit for the edible trade regardless of the 

 extent of destruction wrought. 



Indian Meal Moth. The Indian meal moth, Plodia inter punctella 

 (Hbn.) is a handsome moth with a wing expanse of nearly % inch (11). 

 The fore wings are reddish brown with a coppery luster on the apical two- 

 thirds; the proximal third is whitish gray; the hind wings are dusky 

 gray. The larva is a dirty^-white caterpillar often with a pinkish or green- 

 ish tint ; when full-grown, it is about J4 inch long. According to Popenoe 

 (121) this is the most important insect pest of stored peanuts in the 



" Several kinds, including peanuts. 



