12 CIRCULAR 6 35, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



The phycitid moth Tlascala finiteUa (Walk.) was first collected 

 in 1932 from hogsheads of flue-cured tobacco in Richmond. Occasional 

 specimens have been observed since that date in warehouses of 

 cigarette tobacco. 



A number of other species of insects have been found in stored 

 tobacco, none of which are considered to be of appreciable economic 

 importance. The larva of the moth Aglossa sp. (presumably cupre- 

 alis (Hbn.) ) feeds on tobacco in a molded and partly decayed con- 

 dition and is sometimes found in warehouses. The following species, 

 listed about in the order of their abundance, have been found in 

 tobacco : Tribolium confusum Duv., Henoticus serratus (Gyll.) , Ahas- 

 versus advena (Waltl), Typhaea stercorea (L.), Anthrenus verbasci 

 (L.), Lepisma saccharina L., Ptinus ~brwmeu& Duft., Attagenus piceus 

 (Oliv.), and Trogoderma sp. Some of these insects probably act- 

 as scavengers, eating the dead bodies of the cigarette beetle and the 

 tobacco moth, whereas others use the tobacco as a temporary shelter. 



Figure 9. — The chalcid Aplastomorpha calandrae, a parasite of cigarette beetle larvae. 

 Greatly enlarged. (From Cotton.) 



NATURAL ENEMIES OF STORED-TOBACCO INSECTS 



The cigarette beetle and the tobacco moth have a number of im- 

 portant natural enemies. The little chalcid wasp Aplastomorpha 

 calandrae (How.) (fig. 9). which is a parasite of the larval stage 

 of the cigarette beetle, is often found in abundance in connection with 

 large populations of the beetles. Several factors make it unlikely that 

 this parasite is an important factor in controlling infestations of 

 the cigarette beetle. In tightly packed tobacco the adult females 

 find it difficult to enter feeding tunnels of larvae. The parasites are 

 very vulnerable to fumigants and other methods of control of the 

 beetle and to low temperatures in winter. 



The predacious mite Pediculoides ventricoms Newp. has been found 

 attacking cigarette beetle larvae in tobacco warehouses, but its impor- 

 tance in controlling this insect is not known. 



