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CIRCULAR No. 269 May/lS^ ^ 



UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE^ 

 WASHINGTON, D. C. 



A PEST OF CURED TOBACCO, EPHESTIA ELUTELLA 



HUBNER 



By W. D. Reed, Associate Entomologist, and Erskine Livingstone and 

 A. W. Morrill, jr., Junior Entomologists, Division of Stored Product Insects, 

 Bureau of Entomology 



Introduction 



Records of infestation in tobacco 3 



Economic history 3 



Observations of stages of Ephestia elutella on 



tobacco 4 



The eggs 4 



The larvae 5 



The pupae 5 



The adults 5 



Life history and habits 6 



Apparatus and method of study 6 



CONTENTS 



Page 



.. 1 



Page- 

 Life history and habits.— Con. 



Rate of development on tobacco 7 



Data on mated moths io 



Discussion 12 



Sex ratio 12 



Natural enemies found attacking Ephestia 



elut.ella 12 



The work of larvae in tobacco 14 



The problem of control 14 



Summary 15 



Literature cited 16 



INTRODUCTION 



The phycitid moth Ephestia elutella Hbn. has appeared in the bright- 

 tobacco belt of the United States as a pest of flue-cured tobacco. The 

 infestation was discovered on August 8, 1930, as reported by Back and 

 Reed (I). 1 Up to that time the cigarette beetle {Lasioderma serricorne 

 Fab.) has been regarded by the tobacco industry as the most destruc- 

 tive pest of cured tobacco. The appearance of the new pest and the 

 possibility of its further spread have aroused the industry, and many 

 inquiries concerning the insect have been received from tobacco dealers. 

 The larvae of Ephestia elutella attack the brighter grades of flue-cured 

 tobacco, eating much of the leaf between the veins and otherwise mar- 

 ring the appearance of tobacco in hogsheads and cases. The mere 

 presence of the insect may cause the tobacco to depreciate in value. 

 The work of larvae on leaves of flue-cured tobacco is shown in Figure 1 . 

 Jack (6, p. 32), in writing of the importance of E. elutella as a pest of 

 cured tobacco in Southern Rhodesia, said : 



Tobacco manufacturers in Britain take a very serious view of infestation with 

 this insect, and infested bales of tobacco are depreciated in value far beyond the 

 value of the leaf actually destroyed or damaged. Consequently this pest is to be 

 regarded as a menace of the first importance. 



Observations on the moth in tobacco warehouses have been made 

 at frequent intervals since its discovery there. On June 22, 1931, 

 life-history studies were undertaken in the laboratory at Richmond, 

 Va. The purpose of this circular is to make available for the tobacco 

 industry the results of these studies as far as they have progressed. 



Italic numbers in parenthesis refer to Literature Cited, p. 16 

 163725°— 33 



