<FONT color=red>[Web EXTRA]</FONT> Fast Facts on Stored Product Pests

Stored product pests can be one of the most difficult pest challenges food processors face. They can lay a multitude of eggs; stay in a difficult-to-detect larval stage for long periods; have long, prosperous lives; and be very resistant to conditions which would eliminate other pests.

The upcoming September/October issue of Quality Assurance & Food Safety magazine will provide in-depth information on steps food processors can take with incoming goods — particularly those coming from overseas — and how to best detect the pests and prevent infestations in the first place.

Some of the worst of these for the food processor are:

Carpet Beetles
Eggs laid by female: 100
Larval period: 30-360 days
Adult lifespan: 2-3 years
Fast fact: These beetles feed on animal products, including dried meats, and other insects.

Indianmeal Moths
Eggs laid by female: 60-300
Larval period: 14-290 days
Adult lifespan: 28-300 days
Fast fact: These moths feed on a wide variety of food products — from fruits to cereals to pet food — and produce webbing that binds food pieces together.

Granary Weevils
Eggs laid by female: 36-250
Larval period: 30-150 days
Adult lifespan: 7-8 months
Fast Fact: Watch out for these wily weevils: They play dead when they’re disturbed, pulling their legs up to their body and staying still. They penetrate and feed on the internal portions of whole grains during the larval stage, making early detection of infestations difficult.

Red and Confused Flour Beetles
Eggs laid by female: 300-400
Larval period: 22-100 days
Adult lifespan: three years or more
Fast fact: Confused flour beetles are the most abundant and injurious insect pest of flour mills in the United States. Possibly the perfect pest storm for food plants, these beetles lay lots of eggs and can stick around for a long time. They’re very active, and run for cover when disturbed. Both adults and larvae feed on grain dust and broken kernels, but not the undamaged whole grain kernels.

Source: Ohio State University Extension. Find more info on these and other insects here.