4 CIRCULAR 6 3 5, U. S. DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 



tions in warehouses of domestic flue-cured and imported cigarette 

 tobaccos. In 1937 records of infestation in tobacco stored in growers' 

 pack houses on the farm were obtained, from two localities in North 

 Carolina. In 1938 an outbreak occurred in pack houses on the farm 

 in North Carolina and Virginia, moderate to severe infestations being 

 found in six counties and light infestations in eight counties. 



LOSSES RESULTING FROM INSECT INFESTATION 



The losses incurred in cured tobacco are principally the result of 

 the following: (1) Loss in weight and quality of the leaf tobaccos 

 infested, (2) cost of replacing manufactured tobacco products that 

 are found infested in wholesale and retail establishments, and (3) 

 loss on export shipments abroad resulting from arbitration about in- 

 fested lots of tobacco and discrimination in foreign countries against 

 American tobaccos because of insect infestation. 



The loss in weight and quality of stored tobacco due to insect infesta- 

 tion in the United States is estimated to range from $3,250,000 to $10,- 

 000.000 annually. The total amount of the loss is dependent on the 

 insect populations present in the tobacco and the quantity of tobacco 

 held in storage. The cost to the industry of replacing manufactured 

 tobacco, such as cigars, pipe tobacco, chewing tobacco, and cigarettes, 

 found infested in the trade is estimated to range from $200,000 to 

 $500,000 annually. There is a much greater potential loss in manu- 

 factured tobacco, since thousands of consumers never return infested 

 goods but instead change their brand of tobacco. 



No complete estimates are obtainable on the annual losses in the 

 export trade, but it is estimated that these losses are about $250,000 

 annually. American tobaccos are being closely inspected abroad for 

 insect infestation, and owing to competition for the market it has be- 

 come increasingly important to ship only those tobaccos which are 

 free of insects. The potential danger of incurring heavy losses in the 

 export trade in tobacco as a result of insect infestation is always 

 present, unless effective control measures are carried out. 



INSECT PESTS OF STORED TOBACCO 



Cigarette Beetle 



The cigarette beetle has been a destructive pest of cured and manu- 

 factured tobacco for many years. It is cosmopolitan in distribution, 

 having been for a long time freely transported, by the commerce in 

 tobaccos and some of its other foods, to all parts of the world. 



STAGES OF THE BEETLE 



The adult is a small, brownish-red beetle less than one-eighth of an 

 inch long (2.2 to 3 mm.). When at rest the head is somewhat re- 

 tracted under the front part of the body and the insect appears life- 

 less. The egg is pearly white, elongate, and measures about 0.019 

 inch in length. Under summer conditions the eggs hatch in 6 to 8 

 days. The larvae, or grubs, are very small when hatched, but in 



