53 
ENTOMOLOGY. 
PANTRY, STORE-HOUSE. AND MILE PESTS. 
[By Gerald McCarthy, Entomologist, N. C. Experiment Station.] 
j)NE of the most dangerous insects which infest flour mills in some parts 
of the country is the so called Mediterranean Flour Moth ( Ephestia 
Kuhniella.) This insect is known to exist in North Carolina, and probably 
exists in Tennessee. It is likely to become a most serious and expensive 
pest. Figure I shows the appearance of this insect in different stages of 
growth. 
This insect is of obscure nativity, but is thought to be American by Eu- 
ropean entomologists. It first became troublesome on this continent in 
Canada in 1S89. In the province of Ontario it infested several large flouring 
and patent food mills to such an extent as to compel the stoppage of the works 
for several weeks while all the hands were put to work cleaning and fumigat- 
ing the mills. The loss to several of these establishments, including stock 
and bolting cloths ruined, and loss of time and labor, must have exceeded 
$ 1 ,000 each. 
The moth which produces this destructive caterpillar is a slender lead- 
colored insect, about one inch long. The wings have w r avy black lines near 
the tip. The insect is rather sluggish and often remains in one position for 
Fig. i.— Mediterranean Flour Moth. 
a, caterpillar; A. pupa; c, adult; d , head and fore-part of caterpillar; , , liind-part of 
caterpillar;/, adult moth seen from side; , A, 1, views of wings. The hair Hues show 
exact size. 
a long time. This moth can probably be found active in this state in all the 
months of the year except January. The eggs are whitish or pink, and kidney- 
shaped. The eggs are usually laid on outside of sacks and in the cracks of bins. 
They hatch in about twenty days. As soon as hatched the caterpillar makes 
its way into the flour and there spins around itself a silken tunnel in which it 
lives and feeds on the flour. These tunnels cause the flour to become knotted 
into clots which refuse to pass through the machinery, rendering the material 
worthless. 
