246 THE PEANUT— THE UNPREDICTABLE LEGUME 



United States. It also causes damage to peanuts in many other parts of 

 the world (131, 103, 140, 109, 96, 22). Larvae of the Indian meal moth 

 feed upon shelled peanuts and spin silken threads which form a matted 

 web. Broken kernels are preferred by this species. 



Almond Moth. The almond moth,^^ Ephestia cautella (Walk.), 

 is a pest of nuts, dried fruits and other products including peanuts. The 

 adult has a wing expanse of about % inch. The fore wings are narrow, 

 especially at the base, grayish to yellowish in color with dark markings 

 which may appear as zigzag lines or suffused bands across the wings ; hind 

 wings are whitish (30). The larva is a whitish caterpillar which may be 

 tinged with pink and green ; it is cylindrical and about J4 inch long when 

 fuUgrown; dark dots in four pairs of rows give the body a striated ap- 

 pearance. The larvae spin silken webs which may appear as masses inter- 

 mingled with food and excrement. In 1911 peanuts were listed (30) as a 

 stored product attacked by larvae of the almond moth. Since then this 

 species has been found causing economic damage to peanuts in many 

 sections of the world. Almond moth has been reported (17) as very de- 

 structive in Georgia. Other reports include those for Senegal (131), 

 Spain (134), Gold Coast (33) and Britain (62). 



Saw-toothed Grain Beetle. Both larvae and adults of the saw-toothed 

 grain beetle, Orysaephilus surinamensis (L.), attack peanuts and prod- 

 ucts derived from them. Bissel and DuPree (17), found this insect to be 

 the most abundant species-'^® in shelled peanuts in Georgia; Popenoe 

 (121) listed it third in importance among stored peanut pests. It is 

 recorded infesting peanuts in other parts of the world (10, 130). The 

 adult saw -toothed beetle is about 1/10 inch long and brownish in color ; 

 the thorax bears 6 saw-tooth-like projections on each side. The whitish 

 larva has a brown head, is small, slender, and slightly longer than the 

 adult. Adults of the saw-toothed grain beetle have been kept alive over 3 

 years ; the average life is 6 to 10 months. Two related species, 0. bicornis 

 (Er.) and 0. mercator (Fauv.) occur in this country. The latter species 

 is known to infest peanuts in Senegal (131). Both have feeding habits 

 similar to that of 0. surinamensis. 



Flour Beetles. At least two species of flour beetles of the Genus 

 Tribolium attack stored peanuts and products derived from them. The 

 red ilour beetle, T. castaneum (Hbst.), and confused flour beetle, T. 

 confusum Duv., were fairly numerous in shelled peanuts (17). The 

 former species has been considered (121) as second in importance among 



^ Also called fig moth. 

 1* Other than psocids. 



