24 
the southwestern part of that State. It seems to have been 6rst 
observed in the early part of 1893, and has been spreading from 
null to mill until it is now established in mills in several counties. 
1 cannot find any printed account of its presence there previous 
to my own announcement of it in March, 1895. 
■Pf* P A. Liutner, the State Entomologist, stated, in a letter 
written in February, 1885, that he had no knowledge of the flour 
moth as an American insect, and that if it existed in the United 
states it was unknown to him. I cannot venture even the slight¬ 
est hint as to the source of this outbreak in New York. Suffice 
it to say that the pest is well established in several interior coun¬ 
ties m the southwestern part of the State, and, from present ac¬ 
counts, is spreading to others. The latest information I have 
° n 18 con t a iDed in a communication to the “Ameri- 
can Miller for December, 1895, (p. 910) from a Pennsylvania 
miller living in the vicinity of the New York outbreak. 
Considering the ease with which the flour moth is carried from 
place to place, it is not surprising that we hear so much concern¬ 
ing its ravages. The eggs, larvae, and pupae are transferred long 
distances m manufactured products, and the conveyances themselves 
very often become sources of infestation. Ships, canal boats 
freight cars, or even wagons that carry large quantities of grain’ 
flour, or other farinaceous products, afford excellent breeding 
beds tor this pest, which is usually transferred to the warehouse 
mill, store, or private residence with the material. The fact that 
the adult moth is capable of living from seven to nine days after 
i * *1 ... , that it may fly a considerable distance: 
and in large cities where many mills are operated, it is quite pos- 
si fle that the parent insect often finds lodgment in such places 
alter long flights. The moth, however, is not a rapid flyer, and 
alights quite often, the distance between flights depending on the 
surroundings. In a California mill I have seen the adults fly the 
lull length of the building (a hundred and ten feet) before light- 
In the open air no doubt the flight would be much longer 
Owing to the minuteness of the eggs, and to the fact that the 
larvae are almost always concealed, these two stages are the most 
readily transferable. Eggs deposited on sacks of flour and on 
other manufactured products in the mill, are carried away un¬ 
noticed with the materia], and the pest is thus given a large local 
distribution, finding lodgement in warehouses, grocery stores, livery 
and feed stables, hotels, and private dwellings. Mills in the vicinitv 
of such places are liable to become infested from them, bv the 
return of old bags or barrels. 
The pest is sometimes transferred long distances in second-hand 
machinery. In April, 1894, a Stockton, Cal., miller wrote me as 
follows: “Referring to yours of the 3d inst., relative to the Medi¬ 
terranean flour moth, would state that I have known of it for some 
years, and for the past eighteen months we have had it with 
us here Although its presence is not at all desirable, still we 
have suffered no damage or inconvenience from it, unless, per¬ 
haps, we have had to exercise a little more vigilance in keeping 
the mill thoroughly clean. We introduced it here by purckas- 
