Insects cause millions of dollars in damage to stored grain and other stored products annually in the United States. The model predicts how predator populations increase under different environmental conditions. They live about 100 days when feeding on prey and can survive up to 20 days without food or water. That's important for a predator if it has to wait between prey hatchings, according to Throne. Pirate bugs eat larvae of Indianmeal moths, Mediterranean flour moths, almond moths, red flour beetles, saw-toothed grain beetles and warehouse beetles.
Pirate bugs are the good guys compared to the pests they devour.
Their presence in warehouses and storage facilities poses no threat to the quality of grain, and they are easily removed during processing. New methods for controlling insect pests in stored grain products are being studied because insect pests are developing resistance to currently used insecticides and regulatory restrictions are limiting the use of others.