Flour Beetles
There are several species of Flour Beetles, the 2 most common being:
The Confused Flour Beetle and The Rust-Red Flour Beetle.
Flour Beetles are mainly pests of cereal products and commonly found
in bakeries and flour mills & some times domestic premises. Apart
from cereals other products may be attacked, such as, oil seed, oil cake,
nuts, dried fruit, spices, chocolate, bones and other animal products.
Requires heated premises to survive the winter. You may encounter them
in a kitchen or food store. Often eggs from beetles are in foodstuffs,
pet food or bird food we consume but if the foodstuffs are ‘left’ a
long time before being used or you were sent older stock from the warehouse/shop
then the eggs have a chance to hatch out & complete their life cycle.
This applies to most stored product pests.
Life-cycle
Up to 450 eggs are laid at the rate of 2-10 per day, depending on temperature.
The white eggs are sticky and soon get covered with debris. At 22-27
C they hatch in 6-14 days. The larvae are white tinged with yellow and
pass through 5-15 moults before reaching a full-grown length of 5 mm.
This takes 3-9 weeks. Pupae lie in the same foodstuff as the larvae and
darken from their original white before emerging after 9-17 days. Adults
feed on the same food as the larvae and live 15-20 months. There may
be 5 generations per year.
Treatment
Carpet, Larder Beetles & Moths
There are 4 main species of ‘Carpet Beetles’ with similar
habitats and life-styles; Varied Carpet Beetle, Furniture Carpet Beetle,
Museum Beetle and Fur Beetle. These species are pests of animal and occasionally
food products. Consequently, they may be found wherever these commodities
are stored or handled. Carpet Beetles are now one of the major pests
of textiles, their success being attributed to central heating, which
ensures uniform temperatures, and to the increasing use of wall-to-wall
carpeting, which allows the insects to breed undisturbed. Furthermore,
the success of industrial mothproofing treatments has effectively removed
the moth challenge. Warm, dry conditions are ideal for their development,
but they can survive in foodstuffs of very low moisture content, e.g.
11-12%.
The Museum Beetle, as the name suggests is commonly found in museums
where it is a particular pest to dried specimens.
The Fur Beetle may be found in a wide variety of products including furs,
skins, textiles and grain.
Adult Carpet Beetles live outdoors on pollen and nectar. The larvae are
particularly evident in autumn when they wander in search of food and
hibernation sites. Carpet Beetles thrive in situations where they remain
undisturbed, for example beneath carpets, around skirting boards and
in wardrobes. Bird and rodent nests, animal remains and dead insects
are frequently reservoirs of infestations. Larval forms can cause considerable
damage to keratin-containing products such as wool, fur, leather, silk
and dried animal remains. Damage takes the form of clean, irregular holes.
Because of the large number of larval moults, when cast larval skins
are seen they tend to exaggerate the extent of the infestation.
Life Cycle
This is the life cycle of the varied Carpet Beetle; the other types
of beetles mentioned above have similar life cycles.
Mating occurs immediately after the adults emerge from the pupa stage.
The females produce 20-100 eggs over a period of 2 weeks and these are
deposited or stuck to a potential larval feeding site. These hatch after
2-4 weeks to give the hairy, squat “woolly bears”. This stage
can survive up to 10 months and will hibernate through the winter. The
length of larval life, as with most insects and larvae, depends upon
humidity, temperature and quality of diet. They generally moult at least
6 times but sometimes more. Pupation takes place in the spring and last
10-30 days. The adults live for 2-6 weeks and are able to fly to the
particular flowers on which they feed and to search for egg laying sites.
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Moths
In the United Kingdom, the case making clothes moth is much less important
than the webbing clothes moth as a pest. It can be found throughout the
country, but is most common in the southern counties. It is particularly
capable of damaging hair and feathers, but will also feed on spices,
tobacco, hemp, and skins. The moth derives its common name from the small
silken case that the larva spins about its body and carries about wherever
it feeds, thrusting its head and legs out in front (see picture below).
Sometimes in a severe infestation, larvae may crawl up on a wall in
large numbers, dragging their cases behind them. In domestic situations
the first time you may notice Moth or Carpet Beetle damage is when a
piece of standing furniture is moved. Moth/Carpet Beetle damage usually
occurs in carpets on undisturbed areas. Bird and rodent nests, animal
remains, old wasp/bee nests and dead insects are frequently reservoirs
of infestations. Description:
Adult case making clothes moths have a 1/2-inch wingspread. The adult
is somewhat smaller and more brownish than the webbing clothes moth,
and has 3 dark spots on the wings, but the spots become less discernible
if the wing scales are worn off. Hind wings are smaller, lighter, and
fringed with hair and scales. The males are smaller and lighter in colour
than the females, and are active fliers. The females are sluggish, and
fly only for short distances. The first thoracic segment of the larva,
at first brown, later becomes black, and is divided by a longitudinal
band.
Biology Females live about 30 days and lay 100 to 300 eggs. The larva
stage lasts 50 or more days, (depending on temperature) and the pupa
stage is passed in the case or cocoon. There are about 2 generations
a year. The larva can turn within its case and feed on food material
at either end without altering the position of the case. If the case
is removed from the larva when it is very near pupation, the larva will
die. Rarely will the larva spin a web directly on the material on which
it is feeding, but will usually attach its case to the material by means
of silken threads. Pupation takes place within the case after both ends
have been sealed with silk. There were found to be 3 or 4 generations
a year at 26 ° ± 8 °C (79 °F) and 82% ± 10%
relative humidity when larvae were fed on woollen fabrics impregnated
with 5% yeast (CChem, 1956).
Control and Treatment
The best way to combat carpet beetles and clothes moths is to vacuum
all carpet areas. Rooms should be cleaned often enough to prevent the
accumulation of lint, hair, and other carpet beetle and clothes moth
food materials.
Larder Beetle
The adult larder beetle is dark brown and approximately 1/3 inch in
length. The basal halves of the wing covers are densely covered with
coarse, pale yellow hairs. Six dark spots are usually in the yellow band.
The under surface of the body and legs are covered with fine yellow hairs.
Life cycle
Outdoors the life cycle of this insect is regulated by the seasons;
indoors it may breed continuously throughout the year. Eggs are laid
in batches of 6-8, with the total per female being about 200. The larvae
are dark coloured and covered with dark brown hairs. Two curved spines
on the last body segment characterise it. Like the adult, the larva is
densely covered with hairs. The larvae pass through five or six moults
(five times if male, and six if female), during the 35 to 80 days of
their lives. The larvae have a strong tendency to remain in dark places.
Just before the larvae pupate they begin to migrate, and are often encountered
by homeowners at this time. These older larvae often bore into materials
such as wood, cork, or insulation looking for a place to pupate. The
pupa period lasts about 15 days. The adult’s mate soon after emerging
and eggs are laid near a food source. If conditions are ideal, a generation
may be completed in 40-50 days.
Damage and Habitat
Major damage occurs from larval feeding and the boring of the larvae
before pupation. Larder beetles will attack stored ham, bacon, other
meats, cheeses, tobacco, dried fish, dried museum specimens, and pet
foods, for example. All of these conditions are available in, meat processing
plants, renderers, butchers, fishmongers, delicatessen counters in supermarkets
and, of course, beneath and behind cookers and refrigerators in the kitchen
of a domestic dwelling. The larvae will bore into any commodity containing
meat products; they have also been known to bore into structural timbers.
Tests have shown that they can bore into lead with ease and tin with
some difficulty. The boring is for the purpose of providing a protected
place for pupation, not for feeding.
Larder Beetle infestations may arise from old meat, dead rodent/bird
carcasses or bird’s nests. One particular problem with this pest
is that once the larvae have finished feeding and are ready to pupate
they crawl some distance from the feeding site and will burrow quite
deeply into walls or cavities. Here they pupate and will emerge for up
to 12 months afterwards. This makes treating these beetles may have to
be carried out over a long period of time.
Demand CS First Aid Measures:
Eye contact: Immediately irrigate with eyewash solution or clean water
holding the eyelids apart, for at least 15 minutes. Obtain immediate
medical attention. Skin contact: Take off immediately all contaminated
clothing. Wash skin immediately with water, followed by soap and water.
Such action is essential to minimise contact with skin. Contaminated
clothing should be laundered before reissued. Inhalation: Remove patient
from exposure, keep warm and at rest. Obtain medical attention as a precaution.
Ingestion: If swallowed seek medical advice immediately and show the
container, label or this information sheet, if possible. Do not include
vomiting.
Medical advice: If the amount of chemical is judged to be less than a
lethal dose,
observe the patient and treated symptomatically. If gastric lavage is
considered
necessary, prevent aspiration of gastric material, Consider
administration of activated charcoal and laxative.
Emergency Phone Numbers:
*Sorex 0151 420 7151
*Ficam Tel: 01223 870312
National Poisons Information Service: 0171 955 5095.
MAFF: 0171 238 3000
HSE: 01256 473 181.
*Registered trade marks and/or names. |
