Chapter 17.

MAJOR STORED GRAIN INSECT PESTS

The major economic loss caused by grain infesting insects is not
always the actual material they consume, but also the amount
contaminated by them and their excreta which make food unfit for
human consumption.
About 500 species of insects have been associated with stored
grain products.
Nearly 100 species of insect pests of stored products cause
economic losses.
Storage insect pests are categorized into two types viz.
• Primary storage pests:-
- Internal
-External feeders
Secondary storage pests
Primary storage pests: Insects that damages sound grains are
primary storage pests
 Primary storage pests
• Internal Feeders
 Rice weevil: raammoo ruzii Sitophilus oryzae (Curculionidae:
Coleoptera)
• Distribution and status World-wide. It is the most destructive pest of
stored grain. Raammoo midhaan kuufame keessaa isa hunda caalaa
balleessudha.
 Host range: Rice, sorghum, wheat, barley, maize.
 Damage symptoms
• Both the adults and the grubs cause damage.
• The developing larva lives and feeds inside the grain causing irregular
holes on grains of rice, sorghum, wheat, barley, maize before harvest
and in storage.
• The weevils destroy more than what they eat.
 Lesser grain borer: Rhyzopertha dominica (Bostrychidae: Coleoptera)
 Distribution and status
• India, Algeria, Greece, United States, New South Wales (Australia), Japan
China.
 Host range
• Wheat, rice, maize, sorghum, barley, lentils,, stored, dried potatoes, corn
flour, beans, pumpkin seeds, and millets.

 Damage symptoms
• Both the adults and the grubs cause damage.
• The adults and grubs bore into the grains feed and reduce them to mere
shells with many irregular holes.
• The adults are powerful fliers and migrate from one go down to another,
causing fresh infestation.
• Adults produce a considerable amount of frass, spoiling more than what they
eat.
 Angoumois grain moth: Sitotroga cerealella (Gelechiidae: Lepidoptera)

• Distribution and status

• World wide.
• Host range . wheat, maize, sorghum, barley, oats etc
• A full grown larva a white body and yellow brown head.
• The adult is a buff,
 Damage symptoms
• Only the larvae cause damage by feeding on the grain kernels before harvest
and also in store.
• The larva bores into grain and feeds on its contents.
• Exit holes of with or without a trap door, are seen on the affected cereal
grains.
• As it grows, it extends the hole which partly gets filled with pellets of
excreta.
• It imparts unhealthy appearance and smell. In a heap of grain, the upper
layers are most severely affected.
 Pulse beetle: Callosobruchus maculatus (chinensis) (Bruchidae:
Coleoptera)
 Distribution and status
• USA, Mauritius, Formosa, Africa, China, the Philippines, Japan, Indonesia,
Sri Lanka, Myanmar and India.
 Host range mungbean, peas, cow peas, lentil , cotton seed, sorghum and
maize.
• Larva is whitish with a light-brown head.
• The mature larva is oval, chocolate or reddish brown and has long serrated
antennae.
 Damage symptoms
• The adult and grub feed on the grain by making a small hole.
• Infested stored seed can be recognized by the white eggs on the seed surface
and the round exit holes with the 'flap' of seed coat.
 Cigarette beetle: Lasioderma serricorne (Anobiidae: Coleoptera)
• Adult light brown round beetle with its thorax and head bent downwards and
this presents a strongly humped appearance to the insect.
• The elytra have minute hairs on them.
• Antenna is of uniform thickness.
• The creamy whit oval eggs are laid on the surface of stored material
• Grub whitish hairy grub.
• Damage symptoms
• Both grubs and adults bore into tobacco products viz., cigarettes, cheroots and
chewing tobacco.
• Presence of circular pin head sized bore holes on processed tobacco is the
typical symptom of attack. It also attacks the grain of wheat, peanut, cocoa,
bean, cotton seed etc.
 Drug store beetle: Stegobium paniceum (Anobiidae: Coleoptera)

 Damage symptoms
• Circular pin-head sized bore hole on turmeric, coriander, and ginger,
dry vegetable and animal matter.
 Tamarind beetle: Pachymeres gonagra (Bruchidae: Coleoptera)
• Small grey colored adult. Makes circular holes on fruits of tamarind
both in tree and storage.
 Sweet potato weevil: Cylas formicarius (Apionidae: Coleoptera)
• Whitish apodous with brown head.
• Grubs and adults bore into the tubers and make them unfit for
consumption.
• Damage occurs both in field and storage
 Potato tuber moths: Phthorimoea operculella (Gelechiidae:
Lepidoptera)
• Larva is pale greenish.
• Adult is small with narrow fringed wings;
• Damage occurs both in field and storage.
• Tubers bored by caterpillars associated with fungal or bacterial infection.

 Arecanut beetle: Araecerus fasciculatus (Anthribidae: Coleoptera)

• Adult is grey brown.
• Damage symptoms
• Internal content is eaten leaving outer coat intact.
• Causes more contamination than the actual damage. Coffee, cocoa, spices,
maize, groundnut, brazilnut, dried cassava roots and processed foods.
 External Feeders
 Red flour beetle: Tribolium castaneum (Tenebrionidae: Coleoptera)

• Distribution and status: Worldwide

 Host range Wheat-flour, dry fruits, pulses and prepared cereal foods

• The young larva is yellowish white. As it matures, it turns reddish The

pupa is yellowish and hairy.
• Damage symptoms

• Both the larvae and adults cause damage. The larvae are always found
hidden in the food.
• The adults, however, are active creatures, but mostly found concealed in
flour.
 Indian meal moth: Plodia interpunctella (Phycitidae: Lepidoptera)

 Distribution and status: The pest is worldwide.

• Host range

• It infests grains, meals, breakfast foods, soybean, dried fruits, nuts, dried
roots, herbs, dead insects, etc.
• Larva is white, a light-brown head
 Damage symptoms

• Only the larva causes damage.

• Crawling caterpillars completely web over the surface of a heap of grains

with silken threads.
• The adults fly from one bin to another and spread the infestation.
 Almond Moth / Fig moth: Ephestia cautella (Pyralidae:Lepidoptera)

 Distribution and status: Worldwide

 Host range

• It is a serious pest of dried fruits such as , dried apples, berries,, etc.

• It has also been recorded on dried mango, garlic bulbs, various cereal
grains and grain products.

• The adult moth has grayish wings with transverse stripes on the outer
region.
• Damage symptoms

• The caterpillars make tunnels in the food materials.

 Rice moth: Corcyra cephalonica (Pyralidae: Lepidoptera)
 Distribution and status
• The rice moth is distributed in Asia, Africa, North America and Europe.
 Host range
• It also infests rice, sorghum, maize, groundnut, cotton-seed, milled products,
• Damage symptoms
• The larvae alone damage the grains of rice and maize.
• When infestation is high, the entire stock of grains may be converted into a
webbed mass.
• Ultimately, a characteristic foul odor develops and the grains are rendered
unfit for human consumption.
 Khapra beetle: Trogoderma granarium (Dermestidae: Coleoptera)
 Distribution and status: Worldwide

 Host range

• The Khapra beetle will attack any dried plant or animal matter. It prefers
grain and cereal products, mainly wheat, barley, oats, rye, maize, rice,
flour, malt, and noodles.
 Damage symptoms

The greatest damage is done in summer from July to October. The grubs eat
the grain near the embryo or at any other weak point and from there
proceed inwards.
 Secondary pest
 Saw toothed grain beetle:Oryzaephilus surinamensis (Cucujidae: Coleoptera)

• It is slender, dark, narrow, flattened beetle having a row of saw like sharp teeth on each
side of the prothorax.
Innis qamalee qaxxaamuraa, dukkanaa’aa, dhiphoo, diriiraa kan ta’ee fi gama tokkoon
tokkoon prothorax irratti tarree saw akka ilkaan qara qabu kan qabu dha.

 Long headed flour beetle: Latheticus oryzae (Tenebrionidae: Coloeptera)

• The beetle is light brown in colour Biqiltuun kun halluu bunni isaa salphaadha
 Flat grain beetle: Cryptolestes minutus (Cucujidae: Coleoptera)

• It is light to dark reddish brown beetle... Innis qamalee diimaa salphaa hanga dukkanaa'aa
ta'eedha...
 Grain lice: Liposcelis divinitorius (Psocoptera)
• It is pale grey or yellowish white colored, small, pin head sized louse with filiform
antenna

 Grain mite: Acarus siro (Acarina)

• It is pale straw to dark reddish brown mite.