This document describes common pantry pests that infest stored food products. It identifies the main orders that these pests belong to as Coleoptera (beetles and weevils) and Lepidoptera (moths). The pests are divided into three groups based on feeding habits: internal feeders that develop inside grain kernels, external feeders that feed from outside kernels, and scavengers that feed on damaged kernels. Several specific pest species are then described in detail for each feeding group, including the granary and rice weevils, Angoumois grain moth, drugstore beetle, cigarette beetle, cadelle, Indian meal moth, red and confused flour beetles, saw-tooth

1. STORED FOOD PRODUCT PESTS
COMMONALY CALLED PANTRY PESTS
The insect pests of our stored food products consist of many different species, but are primarily
either of the order Coleoptera (beetles and weevils) and Lepidoptera (moths). The different species
are divided into three groups according to their feeding habits. There are internal feeders, external
feeders, and scavengers.
INTERNAL FEEDERS
The internal feeders are so called because the female deposits a single egg inside a whole kernel
of grain. The egg hatching, the larvae feeding, and the pupation all occur within that grain kernel.
These insects are primarily a problem in fields or in grain storage and processing facilities.
GRANARY WEEVIL & RICE WEEVIL
1. Adult is reddish-brown in color; about 1/8" long.
2. Rice weevil has four light colored spots on the wing covers and the wing cover is
dotted with small round punctures.
3. Weevils can be identified by the presence of the characteristic "snout" that is used for
boring into the grain kernels.
4. Granary weevil back covers have elongated oval punctures and no colorations.
5. Granary weevil cannot fly, so infestation is restricted to stored whole grains; rice weevil
is a good flier so it can also infests fields.
6. Under ideal conditions, development from egg to adult takes as little as four weeks.
7. The adult female lives four to eight months during which time it lays up to 400 eggs.
8. Both can over winter.
9. The-adults are sometimes found in flour or macaroni, but their eggs cannot hatch in these
materials.
ANGOUMOIS GRAIN MOTH
1. This pest is frequently encountered in homes, as well as
warehouses and stores; it often is found in seed art or
decorative dried "Indian corn".
2. The adult is very small like a clothes moth, yellowish white
in color with pale colored wings.
3. The hind wing has a finger-like projection on the leading
edge.

2. LESSOR GRAIN BORER
The lessor grain borer is an internal feeder of the bostrichid family.
This family is better known for its wood-boring members. The
lessor grain borer also bores into wood and books as well as
whole grains.
EXTERNAL FEEDERS
The external feeders are so called because the egg is laid outside the whole grain, and the larvae
feeds on the grain or product from the outside. These insects are often found in homes.
DRUGSTORE BEETLE
1. This beetle feeds on almost every dried plant product there is; it is often found in
dried dog food, and spices such as red pepper, flour, oatmeal, spices and
strychnine (rodent bait), almonds, peanuts, paprika, alfalfa meal, cornmeal,
wheat, wheat bran, wheat germ, dry dog and cat food, bread, birdseed, beans,
coffee beans, fishmeal, spaghetti, instant chocolate, powdered milk, books,
manuscripts, dried flowers, certain fillers and fabric coverings of furniture,
leather, museum specimens, and other foodstuffs.
2. The adult is light brown in color, about 1/10" long.
3. It can be distinguished from the cigarette beetle that it resembles by the
longitudinal lines on the wing covers (Think of lines in a drug store).
4. There will be one to four generations per year depending on temperatures; under
ideal conditions development takes about 40 days.
CIGARETTE BEETLE
1.Most common pest of stored tobacco; also infest most other
dried
plant products. They will also infest raisins, figs, ginger, pepper,
nutmeg, chili powder, curry powder, cayenne pepper, paprika,
yeast, barley, cornmeal, flour, soybean meal, sunflower meal,
wheat, wheat bran, beans, cereals, peanuts, dried flowers,
leather, woolen cloth, and bamboo.
2. Similar in appearance to the drugstore beetle except body is
smooth.
3. More prolific breeder than the drugstore beetle and is a good flier.
4. The cigarette beetle and the drugstore beetle are very similar in appearance. Both are
small, about 1/10 inch in length, reddish-brown oval-shaped beetles. The cigarette
beetle has the head bent down at nearly right angles to the body giving it a humped

3. back appearance when viewed from the side. The drugstore beetle has the head
deflexed, but not quite as much as the cigarette beetles. To distinguish between the
two species, you will need to look closely at the antennae.
The drugstore beetle has a distinct three-segmented antennal club, while the cigarette
beetle does not have a distinct club.
CADELLE
1.The largest of the food pests; is also known as the bread beetle or bolting
cloth beetle.
2. Adults and larvae feed on cereals, breakfast foods, potatoes, shelled and
unshelled nuts, or fruit, and prefer to lay their eggs under the flaps of
cartons. They can gnaw through sacks and paper packages and wood,
thus allowing other insects access.
Unlike the granary and rice weevils, they feed not only on whole grains,
but also on flour and a variety of other products.
3. The adult-is shiny black in color, about 1/3" long, and the pronotum is strongly
separated from the wing attachments.
Kapra
1. The Khapra beetle, is the most destructive of the
food infesting insects; many efforts are made to
prevent this insect from again becoming
established in this country.
2. The Khapra beetle attacks stored food such as
creals and oil seeds. Larva will feed on just
about
anything though they prefer wheat, barley or rice. Other
common food includes dried blood, milk, pollen and dead insects.
3. The most common place for Khapra Beetle activity in the home will
be in the pantry, the garage and the laundry room.
INDIAN MEAL MOTH
1.Most common pest of dried fruit, also infest grain, pasta, nuts, flour, dry
food
stuff.
2. Adult is distinctive in appearance and behavior, about a 3/4" wingspread,
outer half of forewings are reddish- brown in color, flies at night in an
irregular zigzag pattern.
3.The larvae is about 1/2" long, dirty white
color
with a pinkish or greenish tint; the mature
larvae is often found searching for a suitable
place to pupate, they are often mistaken for

4. clothes moths.
SCAVENGERS
RED FLOUR BEETLE & CONFUSED FLOUR BEETLE
The scavengers
they are unable
on undamaged
their eggs and
dust and
products, or on
by the internal or external feeders.
are so called because
to penetrate or feed
grain kernels. They lay
the larvae feed on
particles of food
the kernels damaged
1. Very similar in habits and appearance. The red and confused flour beetles are pests of
a wide range of grain, cereal, and other food products, but they prefer milled grain.
They will consume pet food, cereal, pasta, spices, rodenticide, dried fruit and
vegetables, eggs of other insects, nuts, grass seed and just about anything, which can
provide nutrition.
2. Red flour beetle is a strong flier; the last three antenna segments
form a distinct club
3. Confused flour beetle does not fly, the antenna segments are large
to
a slender club end.
4. Both are reddish-brown in color, about 1/8" long.
5. Female lays up to 400 eggs in her lifetime of up to three years.
SAW-TOOTH GRAIN BEETLE
1. The smallest of the stored food pests, it is able to easily
penetrate almost any package or jar.
2. Adult is about 1/10" long, flattened body; brownish color.
3. Gets its name from the six saw-tooth projections on each
side of the thorax.
4. Merchant Grain Beetle very similar in habits and appearance.
5. Are found in almost any stored dry food material, large
population develops rapidly in normal household conditions.

5. 6. Female lays about 300 eggs in her life of up to three years.
MEDITERRANEAN FLOUR MOTH
1.Common in household products such as nuts and chocolate
as well as spices, dried fruits, and flour and pet food.
2. Adult has about 1" wingspan, wings are pale gray with black
wavy bars running across them.
3. When at rest, has a characteristic pose with the head elevated
and the tip of the abdomen protruding between the wings.
4. Silken threads or mats in infested material indicate this moth.
*CONTROL RECOMMENDATIONS
1. THE INFESTED PRODUCTS MUST BE REMOVEDAND DESTROYED
2. When inspecting look for:
(a) Live or dead insects.
(b) Webbing or silk threads.
(c) Insect droppings in the bottom of a container.
(d) Small holes in boxes or bags, sealed or not.
(e) Flying moths.
(f) Emergence holes in whole grains, or quantities of grain dust.
3.After removal of the infested materials, all food particles and residues must be thoroughly
cleaned. Vacuum around shelving to and bottom, look for evidence along ceilings.
4. Based on inspection a wide variety of application techniques and products are available for
control.
(a) Crack and crevice to control larvae with residual products.