38 



INJURIOUS INSECTS AND FUNGI. 



[June 1895. 



Life History. 



The Lcemophheas is of a red colour with yellowish shades on 

 the thorax, and rather more than one twelfth of an inch long. 

 Ill some specimens the colour is almost orange. Its head is 

 dark, and the antennae are fulvous, with II joints, nnd small 

 clubs. The legs are red and the wing cases cover the body 

 entirely. It has ja^vvs with formidable teeth. The wings 

 are used very sparingly, and appear adapted only for short 

 flights. This beetle moves rapidly, and, from observations made 

 of specimens in confinement, it eats and lives upon the contents 

 of the grains, and does quite as much harm as its larvse. 



The larva is about the tenth of an inch long with a narrow 

 body composed of thirteen segments and furnished with three 

 pairs of legs. The tail end is sharply curved upwards, having two 

 sharp brown points at the extremity. It has a brown head with 

 strong jaws. Tliere are hairs scattered somewhat sparsely upon 

 the body. In colour it is a very light brown ; in some specimens, 

 or it may be at some period of its life, there is a yellow tinge 

 pervading the body, with brown flecks here and there. It is 

 very active, moving very rapidly, and when it has cleared out 

 the contents of one grain it visits another. It is clear, from 

 prolonged observation of the habits of this insect, that the beetle 

 places its eggs in grain in v/hich holes have been pierced by 

 other insects, and that the larva, when it has devoured the con- 

 tents left by the first comer, moves on to other grains. 



Remedies and Methods of Prevention. 



Cleanliness is most important in granaries and warehouses 

 infested with this beetle as well as with other insects injurious 

 to grain, and all buildings of this kind should be frequently 

 washed and c'eansed. When a heap of grain is infested it should 

 be fiequently moved and got rid of as soon as possible. Many 

 larva3 fall to the ground when the grain is moved, and when 

 the infested heap has been cleared away, cracks and crannies in 

 the floor and walls should be scrubbed well w)th a mixture of 

 soft soap and water made very thick and jstrong. This will 

 aflect the larva? as well as the beetles, as they creep into chinks 

 and crevices and pupate there as well as in grain. Carbon 

 bisulpliide burnt upon infested grain in large bins made as air- 

 tight as possible would kill the lai vje and beetles, but great care 

 must be taken in using this highly inflammable substance. 



It would be well, if possible, to run infested grain through 

 cleaning machines immediately upon its arrival from foreign 

 countries, and to destroy the light pierced grains and ;dl refuse 

 from the sieves. Many of the Laemopldceus beetles and larva? 

 might thus be destroyed. 



