. Bulletin of the Department of Agriculture. Agriculture; Agriculture. 2 BULLETIE" 783, U. S. DEPAETMENT OF AGEICULTUEE. laid its eggs in the beans, which are sometimes warehoused for several months, in the country from which they were shipped. During this period of storage additional generations of larvaj are hatched which destroy large quantities of the cacao beans or render them unfit for sale. The rice moths have been found most numerous in the older beans and also occur abundantlj^ in cocoa nibs, in cocoa in powdered form, in refuse cocoa dust, and in ground cacao shells, so tha
. Bulletin of the Department of Agriculture. Agriculture; Agriculture. 2 BULLETIE" 783, U. S. DEPAETMENT OF AGEICULTUEE. laid its eggs in the beans, which are sometimes warehoused for several months, in the country from which they were shipped. During this period of storage additional generations of larvaj are hatched which destroy large quantities of the cacao beans or render them unfit for sale. The rice moths have been found most numerous in the older beans and also occur abundantlj^ in cocoa nibs, in cocoa in powdered form, in refuse cocoa dust, and in ground cacao shells, so that they may be said to feed on any form of the cacao bean from the shells to the finished or edible article, cocoa or chocolate in powder, in cakes, and in confections, whether the substance is sweet- ened or unsweetened. Later moths and lar- vae of this species were received in rice from different sources which will be mentioned here- after. This species works in much the same manner as do the fig moth {Eph- estia cautella Walk.) and the Indian-meal moth {Plodia inter- functeZla Hbn.), form- ing a still stronger thread than do these re- FiG. 1.—Diagram showing wing venation of the rice moth -latecl lOrmS, and mat- (Gorcyra cephalonica). (After Durrant and Bever- ^ij^cr the infested ma- terial more closely. In- deed, this thread or webbing in the case of powdered cocoa becomes so dense that in close quarters the moths when emerging are scarcely able to make their exit. As a consequence of this and of the further fact that the food suppl}^ becomes too dry to be eaten, many of the larvae perish. This is true not only under artificial conditions in the laboratory but has been noted in manufacturers' storerooms. THE MOTH. While, as previously stated, the rice moth resembles in certain re- spects some of our common moths which breed in stored cereals, dried fruits, and similar material, it does not belong to the same lepi- dopterous group, being a member of a differen
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