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Latin Name: Ephestia kuehniella
Common Name: Mediterranean Flour Moth
Latin Family Name: Pyralidae
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
Argument exists over whether this species originated in the Mediterranean or Central America, but it now is found throughout the world.
Biology:
This species infests virtually any material of plant or vegetable origin, including processed foods as well as nuts, seeds, and legumes, and dried fruits and baked products. It is a major problem in the flour industries, where the larvae create large masses of silk webbing that interferes with machinery and the processes. The female can lay over 600 eggs, usually fastened to a surface containing the food material. They appear to prefer ovipositing on dusty, powdery materials. Typically the life cycle takes about 2 months to complete, and in favorable climates generations can continue all year long.
Identification:
The
Latin Name: Phereoeca praecox
Common Name: Plaster Bagworm
Other Names: Wall bagworm
Pest Details
Origin:
This moth may be native to Latin America and is more common in southern California than anywhere else in the U.S.
Biology:
This moth is closely related to the Household Casebearer, which is discussed separately and which is a distinct species. It is often confused with the Casemaking Clothes moth because the larvae of both moths as well as the Household casebearer will create a small silk “case” for itself, camouflaged with debris from its local environment, and drag this case about as it wanders. Females deposit up to 200 eggs, cementing them to surfaces and on debris where larvae may find food. The larva immediately creates its silk case and it is a very active stage, wandering in search of food. While they are not well known it is likely they feed on detritus and bits of organic debris found within
Latin Name: Cadra figulilella
Common Name: Raisin Moth
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
Likely this is native to tropical regions of the world but is found throughout the world at this time.
Biology:
The Raisin Moth is an occasional pest of stored food products, infesting most grain-based products as well as dried fruit and nuts. The life cycle is completed in less than 60 days, with multiple generations occurring each year indoors. It may be most common in the U.S. in California and Florida as ports of entry as well as in California’s huge fruit and nut industries. It is tropical in origin and survives best in warm climates. Females deposit up to 300 eggs on the material the larvae will feed on. The adult moths do not feed.
Identification:
The adult moth is small and has gray-brown forewings that may have a very indistinct darker band running across the middle from top to bottom. They are similar to the Mediterranean
Latin Name: Corcyra cephalonica
Common Name: Rice Moth
Latin Family Name: Pyralidae
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
Found throughout the world in a wide variety of plant based products. It is found most often in humid climates, and is a severe problem in cocoa or nut meats originating in tropical countries.
Biology:
The moths can be active year round in warm climates, and may have several generations each year. In cooler climates it may be reduced to a single generation each year. Infestations often occur due to food products shipped from tropical countries already infested with the insects, including rice products, giving it its common name.
Identification:
Adult moths are fairly nondescript, being small and medium dark gray with no specific markings to distinguish it. It has no mouthparts, and the veins on the wings tend to be noticeably darker than the ground color of the wings. The larvae are
Latin Name: Tineola bisselliella
Common Name: Webbing Clothes Moth
Latin Family Name: Tineidae
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
Some dispute exists over whether it originated in Africa or Europe, but it is now found throughout the world and is very common throughout North America.
Biology:
While notorious for the damage they can do to woolen fabrics and other fabrics of animal hair origin, the larva also will feed on fungus, skins, dead insects, and most other protein materials associated with animals. They have been known to feed on cotton fabrics if necessary, and may cause damage to synthetic fabrics which they cannot digest. Adults strongly avoid light and do not feed, and females rarely fly. The larvae create mats of silk webbing, often as a tube, and prefer to remain under the silk to feed. It also avoids light and feeds primarily in dark, hidden areas.
Identification:
The larvae
Latin Name: Endrosis sarcitrella
Common Name: Whiteshouldered House Moth
Latin Family Name: Oecophoridae
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
Possibly a native of Europe since it is more common there, but now found worldwide and throughout much of North America. It appears to be a more severe pest of stored products in some European countries than it is in the United States.
Biology:
This small moth is found worldwide wherever humans managed to carry it. The larvae feed on a surprisingly diverse number of food choices around structures, including debris in bird nests, dead insects, grain-based food products, animal fibers such as wool, animal droppings, dried fruit, and dry plant materials. The larva creates a small silk tube for itself as it feeds and moves about. The adult moths may come to lights at night. Females deposit up to 200 eggs onto foods for their larvae. Development from egg to adult can be complete
Latin Name: Tyrophagus sp.
Common Name: Cheese Mites
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
The mite is found throughout the world and its origin is uncertain.
Biology:
While this cosmopolitan mite is an important pest problem in stored foods such as flour, cereal products, dried fruit and dried meats, and even in mattresses and stuffed furniture, it also is used deliberately to impart a distinctive flavor to certain cheeses. During the production of the cheese the mites are introduced to it and eventually will completely cover the cheese with mites, their molted exoskeletons, and their feces, providing what is described as a certain “piquant” flavor. Their presence in numbers like these gives the food the appearance of having a thick layer of dust on it.
Identification:
Adult mites are only one third of a millimeter long and grayish white with pink legs. The body is oval and at the front appears pinched, with the mouthparts
Latin Name: Dermanyssus gallinae
Common Name: Chicken Mite
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
Due to its worldwide presence on so many different birds the origin of this species is likely unknown.
Biology:
This common mite is a parasite on all kinds of domestic poultry as well as pigeons, sparrows, starlings, and many other birds. It is found throughout the world. Particularly in the absence of its preferred bird hosts the mites will move about within a structure where birds have been nesting or roosting and will bite humans. The bites are said to cause a painful skin irritation. Bird mites in general cannot continue to breed and survive without their bird hosts. Eggs will normally be deposited on the host bird with only a few eggs produced by each female. However, development from egg to adult mite completes in a week or less, and populations can build up rapidly because of this. The eggs hatch to a larva, the larva molts to
Latin Name: Trombicula sp.
Common Name: Chiggers
Latin Family Name: Trombiculidae
Other Names: Red bug
Pest Details
Origin:
Several species of chiggers are native to North America, most commonly encountered in the southern states of the U.S. and commonly throughout Latin America.
Biology:
The adults of these mites are free-living predatory mites, feeding on other mites and possibly tiny insects. It is the larval stage, or first instar, which is called the chigger, and it is a parasite on humans and many animals, including other mammals, birds, reptiles and amphibians. On humans they tend to bite the skin around the ankles or belt area, where clothing fits tightly against the skin. The adult mites overwinter in the soil, producing their eggs with the warmth of spring. They then die, and the new chigger stages emerge from the eggs to seek their food sources. They are rapid crawlers, living in tall grass and other vegetation
Latin Name: Bryobia praetiosa
Common Name: Clover Mite
Latin Family Name: Tetranychidae
Other Names: N/A
Pest Details
Origin:
This is a native species of mite in North America.
Biology:
The mites in this family are primarily plant parasites, and many of them are serious pests of crops and ornamentals. The clover mite feeds on many kinds of trees, shrubs, bedding plants and turf, but does not bite humans. It becomes a problem when it invades structures in large numbers, especially during warm periods of the year. When crushed they leave small red stains on the surface. No male clover mites have been found, with females reproducing by parthenogenesis. Reproduction is rapid, with hundreds of thousands of mites being produced in a very short time. Eggs are laid in cracks on almost any surface, including trees and the outside of buildings. All stages of the mites may overwinter, although the egg stage is the