118 PRINCIPAL HOUSEHOLD INSECTS. 



resembles that of tire preceding, (littering chiefly in its nmcli darker 

 brownish markings. The pupa, however, is of the* same whitish color. 

 The beetles, in the writer's experience, begin to 

 appear considerably earlier than do those of the 

 yellow meal-worm. Here at Washington they may 

 be found as early as the latter part of February, 

 remaining till the beginning of July, occurring most 

 abundantly in April and May. 



In 1S90 a correspondent sent specimens of larva: 1 

 that had been found in a grocery store in a parcel of 

 adulterated ground black pepper, and within the year 

 we received a lot of living larva 1 from Dr. J. B. Porter, 

 of Glendale, Ohio, that had been found in a box of 

 fig. 55.— TenebHo obscu- commercial soda ash. We have also specimens that 



Enlarged !lrigi^) Whi were taken amon g phosphate fertilizers, cotton seed, 

 and cotton meal. It should be unnecessarj^ to re- 

 mark that these larva 1 did not feed upon the chemicals, although they 

 lived in them for some time. 



THE MEAL MOTHS. 



Two species of moths, in addition to the clothes moths, are habitual 

 frequenters of the household, the one attracting notice through the 

 depredations of its larva in a variety of articles, the other chiefly by 

 its beautiful appearance in the winged form. 



THE INDIAN-MEAL MOTH. 

 (Plodia interpunctella Huebn.) 



A small moth of about the same size as the clothes moths, which it 

 somewhat resembles when in flight, is very often found in stores, and 

 through them is brought into the household, where it is an all-round 

 nuisance, feeding upon almost anything edible. It makes its home 

 almost everywhere, and is very sure to be found in boxes of preserved 

 fruits if these are left open for any time, but does not disdain fruits 

 that have been left in barrels to rot and dry up, as frequently happens. 



The common name of this insect is sufficiently indicative of its fond- 

 ness for meal, and it feeds as well upon flour and upon grain of all 

 sorts, ground or whole. In the writer's experience it breeds also in 

 chick-peas and table beans, peanuts, English walnuts, almonds, edible 

 acorns, chocolate beans, dried fruits of all kinds, including currants, 

 raisins, peaches, apples, apricots, prunes, plums, and cherries, and seeds 

 of several sorts. It has also been recorded as infesting clover seed, 

 garlic heads, dried roots of dandelion, pecan nuts, and cinnamon bark, 

 and has been reported to invade beehives, and does considerable damage 

 at times in museums, feeding on herbarium specimens, and even attack- 

 ing dried insects. 



The adult moth has a wing expanse of between a half and three- 

 quarters of an inch, and is of the general appearance represented in 



