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DITCHLING CORPORATION LIMITED
"Supplying professional Pest Control products since 1964"
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DITCHLING CORPORATION LIMITED
"Supplying professional Pest Control products since 1964"
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The INDIAN MEAL MOTH (Plodia interpunctella) was given its common name when it was discovered feeding on Corn meal, then known as Indian meal. It is one of the most destructive pests of stored foods. It is found wherever food, natural or processed, is available - households, bakeries, groceries, warehouses, confectioneries, granaries, etc.
Description
The adult moths have distinctive colored wings with a wingspan of about 2/3 in (16 mm). The basal half of the front wings is grey or whitish; the outer part is reddish-bronze with irregular dark bands. The hind wings are silver grey with a silken fringe. The abdomen is similar in color to the hind wings.
The eggs are 0.3-0.5 mm long, grayish white. Developing larvae can be seen inside. Fully grown larvae average range from 9 - 19 mm and average 13 mm (½in) long. Most are a grey color, but may vary from green to pinkish brown depending on their food.
Young pupae are straw colored, older ones are glossy light brown. Ordinarily, pupae are enclosed in silken cocoons.
Habits
At optimum temperatures, 79-84ºF (26-29ºC), adult INDIAN MEAL MOTHS emerge after about 21 days; maximum egg production occurs with 2 or 3 days after emergence. Mating takes place as soon as 1 hour after emergence. Females prefer to mate and lay their eggs during darkness. Egg production is completed within 4 days of mating. Egg production ranges from 40 - 400, averaging around 170, they are laid singly, in groups or in chains.
Egg incubation ranges from 2-17 days; larva development takes from 13-288 days, adults live 5-13 days; pupation can take from 4-33 days, averaging about 15 days.
Mature larvae leave their food and seek a site to pupate within 24 hours of pupation: these sites include the surface of their food medium, cracks in walls and storage boxes. Most mature larvae spin a cocoon in which to pupate.
Adult INDIAN MEAL MOTHS tend to avoid light, resting quietly on walls and ceilings in poorly lighted areas. When disturbed, they fly in an irregular pattern. They fly chiefly at night, beginning at dusk.
Foods
The INDIAN MEAL MOTH larvae feed on as wide a range of foods as any food-infesting insect, including Grains and grain products, Garden seeds, Oilseeds, Nuts, Peas, Beans, Spices, Milk products, Chocolate , Dried fruits and vegetables, Drugs to name a few; they are cannibalistic, especially on pupae and larvae in cocoons.
Damage to stored foods greatly exceeds the amount of food consumed. It results from the large deposits of fecal pellets webbed together by extensive coverings of silken threads; it includes cast skins, egg shells, pupal cases and cocoons. When the food is Wheat, Corn and some other grains, the kernels are degermed. Flour milled from degermed wheat, compared with that from normal wheat, results in a distinctly inferior bread in all its characteristics. The volume may be reduced about 9 per cent, and the crumb texture and color are affected.
Larvae prefer the coarse grades of flour and milled products; they are the insects most commonly found in packaged Cornmeal, Wholewheat flour and various prepared products.
Control
1. Avoidance: examine all products entering the premises and reject or heat or fumigate the infested material.
2. Monitoring: install Pheromone traps to give early warning and identification of possible infestations.
3. Sanitation: remove pockets of infested foods in machinery, buildings and warehouses. Remove accumulations of dust, flour and other materials in which insects can breed.
4. Heat and cold: treat suspected infestations by exposure to 140ºF (60ºC) for 1 hour or to 120ºF (50ºC) for 2 hours. Cold is usually not practical for destroying INDIAN MEAL MOTHS.
5. Insecticides: apply, as required, approved insecticides. When applied to grain, the webbing should be removed first. Some larval resistance has developed against some insecticides.
6. Space sprays: approved space sprays may be used to kill MOTHS. Evening applications are recommended as that is the time when the MOTHS are most active.
7. Fumigation: under some circumstances, spot or general fumigations may be required.
8. Shade cloth: in the Dried-fruit industry, protect fruit by shade cloth while drying.
9. Inspections: program regular inspections for evidence of infestations, with special attention during warmer months.
10. Tight containers: in households, store especially susceptible foods (Meals, Nuts, Bird seed, Dried fruits) in tight metal or glass containers and keep them refrigerated.
Pheromones incorporated into suitable traps should be installed to give early warning and identification of possible infestations. The Indian Meal Moth is one of five related species in the family Pyralidae, the other four being Almond Moth, Mediterranean Flour Moth, Raisin Moth, and Tobacco Moth - all of which are attracted by the same lure.
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INSECTICIDES
PURGE Metered Aerosol is registered for use against Small Flying Moths
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