The Washington bee., 1895-10-26
THE WICKED wEEvn.
Cacle Sam to Try to Stamp Out the Insect
Gra,n-Destroyer.

G0cl0 sam 90 THy 10 SC8"p Out tu9 AHD0CS
Gra,n-Destroyer.
The pernicious weevils are making
themselves so obnoxious in this country
that experts of the Department Of Agri-
culture are now engaged in making
| snecial study of them. Every year they
| destroy many millions of dollars worth
Of stored cereals in granaries and eie-
vators. In fact, the question now te
Isht them is one of serious and growing
economic importance. Strange to say
.ery little scientific attention has beer
Iirected to these insects up to date, ant
.ot much is known about them. 1t l.
,eckoned that they cause an annua
loss Of over 81, ,000, 900 in Texas alone, an
IN 1893 the corn crop of Alabama wa
'amaged by them to the extent or 81
10000.
mere are about forty species of thes'
insects, some of which are beetles an
others moths. Nearly all Of them are
assisted immigrants, having been i'm
ported from abroad in cargoes of grain
IN this manner they have been distrih
lted by commerce to all parts of tn
world.
Three of the species actually live II
| he kernels, while the others feed on tn,
starchy contents. Grain infested b!
| hem is unfit for human consumption.
and has been known to cause serious ILL
ness. 1t is poisonous to horses, and is
not wholesome even for swine. Poul
| Try, however, find it palateable and nu
| tritious. The moths especially are
prolific that the progeny Of single pain
| in a. twelve-month will number many
| thousands. capable Of destroying sew
| eral tons of grain. Fortunately, the in
crease of these pests is checked to some
extent by natural enemies, amons
| which are spiders that inhabit mills ano
sranaries In the fields they are preyed
| 1pon by birds and bats.
| One of the worst of these insects is
| the familiar "granary weevil." which is
| mentioned in the Georges of Virgil
| It's ravages made it known long before
the Christian era. It is native to the
region of the Mediterranean. Having
| been domesticated for SO long time. it
| has lost the use of it's wings. The
| female punctures the kernel with hel
| -nout and inserts an egg from which is
| hatched a little worm that lives in the
hull and feeds on the starchy interior.
| Quite as bad as this beetle is a moth
| that comes from the Mediterranean re-
| gion also. The larva, which is known
| in the United States as the ely weevil.' y
does most injury to corn and wheat. In
six months grain infested by it loses 4G
| per cent in weight and Is per cent. Of its
| starchy matter. Incidentally, it is rem
dered totally unfit for food, and bread
made from wheat infested by the insect
is said to have caused an epidemic re-
Gently in France. The pest was noticed
in North Carolina as early as 1928.
Another wicked imported bug is the
"rice weevil" 1t originated in India.
whence it has been distributed by COM
merce all over the world. At present it
does as much harm as any other known
| insect, being a serious pest in the South
ern States. In the tropics generally it
does enormous damage. Formerly,
| when long voyages were necessary in
importing grain from the East. it fire.
| auently destroyed whole cargoes. hav-
ing plenty of time to multiply. The adult
| beetles of this species cause much trou-
BILE in storehouses and groceries by in
| vading boxes of crackers, cakes. yeast
cakes and macaroni and barrels and
| bins of flour and meal They can sub
sist for months on sugar. and some
| times they burrow into ripening peaches
and grapes.
A new in-destroyer has recently
| attracted attention in this country, and
has earned for itself the title of "scourge
| of the flour mill'' It is the "Mediter-
| ranean -four moth" The caterpillars
spin webs which make the flour clotted
and lunnpy, so that the machinery In
the mills becomes clogged and has to be
| stopped for a considerable time. The
| larvae prefer flour or meal. but they
| flourish also on bran, prepared cereal
| foods and crackers.
This subject is considered of such inn
portance that much space will be
| devoted to it in the forthcoming Year
Book Of the Department of Agriculture.
| The remarks made therein are based
upon recent study Of weevils and their
! habits by Mr.. F. H. Chittenden, of the
| Bureau of Entomology Farmers are
| informed that the best remedy for such
! mischief is bisulphide of carbon. which
| may be applied in moderately tight bins
| by simply pouring the liquid into shall
| low pans or on bits of cotton waste and
| distributing them about on the surface
| of the grain
The stuff rapidly evaporateS. and the
vapor. being heavier than air. descends
and permeates the mass of grain. kill
| ing all insects as we'll as rats and mice
which it may contain.
| In France a number of machines have
been devised for the treatment of in
| tested grain. Into these the grain is
| poured and either revolved while ex-
posed to heat or subjected to a violent
/ agitation, which kills the insects Ere
quent handling Of grain by shovelling.
stirring or transferring from one recep-
tacle to another is destructive to the
moths. as they are unable to extricate
| themselves from the mass and perish in
the attempt. The practice of storing
grain in large bulk is also recommended
as the surface layers only become in
tested. Natives in India store their
wheat in air-tight pits to preserve it
from the rice weevil. and condemn ven
| tilation. In Europe and America. on
the other hand. ventilation is practised
| with decided benefit.