RED FLOUR BEETLE

RED FLOUR BEETLE
The Meal Moth is a medium-sized, around 3/4ths inch, triangular-winged moth, and is colored various shades of brown. The larvae have a brown head and are mostly dirty white in color. They leave a silky tunnel or casings where they have infested food, and can even chew through plastic bags to get their next meal.
Meal moths prefer grain products that are damp, but will get into just about any food debris and even vegetable products. They will infest cereals, flour, seeds, spices, and pet food leaving masses of the webbing behind as the sign of contamination.

Life Cycle
About 400-500 eggs will be laid on or near the products these beetles infest, being laid at a rate of 2-3 per day. In 1-2 weeks they will hatch into larvae, which then go through 5 to 12 instars, taking from one to four months to complete the larval cycle. Four to five generations can be produced in one year, and it can live for up to three years.