Indianmeal moth (plodia interpunctella)

Description

Indianmeal moth Plodia interpunctella is a very common pest that feeds mainly on stored food products. In fact, this is the most important pest of stored products that is commonly found in homes or grocery stores. Larvae feed on everything and are found in seed, seed, dried fruit, dog food and spices. It was named after the American Pineapple, where it was found to be a food pest made from “Indian corn”.
Scattering in the world
Indianmeal moths are found in vast climates of stored products and food storage facilities around the world. This pest also lives successfully in homes and is very common.
Morphology
Indian moth eggs: The eggs of Indianmeal butterfly are grayish white with a length of 0.3 to 0.5 mm. The eggs are spawned individually or in clusters and are usually laid directly on the food source.
Plodia interpunctella larvae: There are five to seven larval instars. Their color is usually white, but depending on the food source, they are pink, brown or almost greenish. The length of the adult larva of indianmeal moth is about 1/2 inch (1.27 cm) long. They have five well-developed pairs of toes that help the puppy to travel considerable distances to reach its desired location.

Puppies: The larvae form pupae either in a silky cocoon or even without cocoon. Indianmeal moth puppets are 1/4 to 2.5 inches long (6 to 11 mm) and are pale brown. Pupping away from contaminated material. In fact, late-age plodia interpunctella larvae can travel long distances and are often mistaken for clothing pests. Inside the warehouse, the small larvae usually move to other shelves before they become pupae, so they may mislead us into finding a source of contamination.

Adult insect: Adult individuals are the main symptoms of infection. Adult indianmeal moths do not appear to fly in a straight line when flying, and their paths are irregular. They are attracted to light and may move away from contaminated rooms into the home. As a result, they are also mistaken for clothing pests. Adult insects do not feed even if they do not need to feed on eggs, but adult insects are said to be interested in juices and sweet flavors.

Adult insects of plodia interpunctella are about 1/2 inch (12.7 mm) long and about 8.5 inches (16 to 20 mm) long. The forehead is a reddish-brown insect and has a copper gloss on the outer third and a gray on the inner third. At rest, the wings are held on the body like a sloping roof. The head and chest are gray and brown and have a copper gloss.
Life cycle
The life cycle is completed in 27 to 305 days. An Indianmeal moth insect can lay up to 400 eggs after mating. Mating and hatching of eggs occurs about three days after the appearance of adults. The eggs can be observed individually or in clusters and are generally laid on the larval food source. The eggs are hatched in seven to eight days at 20 ° C and three to four days at 30 ° C. Once the eggs are hatched, the larvae begin to disperse and within a few hours can establish themselves in a food source. Larvae can grow in six to eight weeks at temperatures of 18 to 35 degrees Celsius. The number of larval ages ranges from five to seven (depending on food source and temperature). The pupal stage of Indian moth can range from 15 to 20 days at 20 ° C and seven to eight days at 30 ° C.

Damage by plodia interpunctella

Larvae of Indianmeal moth are surface corrosive. The greatest damage to the products stored in the larvae results in large amounts of silk being produced in the food products by stool pellets, flaky shells and eggshells. Damage to stored products because of this contamination exceeds the presence of insects and also causes the growth of fungi and bacteria. Homeowners and managers of food processing plants, warehouses, food stores and warehouses should be alert to signs of contamination.

Monitoring and sampling

Surveillance and sampling of Indianmeal moths (plodia interpunctella) is carried out with formidable adhesive traps. In some cases, low-level contaminants can also be used to control traps. Traps are also useful in scheduling and evaluating control steps. In a study of the effect of liquid pheromone traps on the absorption of Indian butterfly, traps containing (Z, E) -9, 12-tetradecadien-l-yl-acetate (ZETA) were found useful in population monitoring. One of the drawbacks of Pheromone sticky traps seems to be that population size affects their trapped numbers. For example, if a large number of butterflies are trapped, the percentage of larger butterfly catches will decrease. Continued use of adhesive traps (with pheromone) can lead to improved control programs and less insect incidence in products stored on food shelves.

Pest Management

Health

The removal of nutrients from the main elements in the control of the Indianmeal moth population (plodia interpunctella). If a population is discovered, all contaminated food must either be disposed of or treated. Any susceptible food source should be placed in closed containers. Dog food and bird seed are usually ignored as contaminated sites and these should also be kept in packed containers. All stored food products coming home from the grocery store must be screened for the presence of “white worms”, otherwise the infection will spread to other stored products. In most cases, contaminants, especially small amounts, must be disposed of quickly and expelled. Although it is recommended to wash meals and flours in warmer areas, this is not usually recommended.

Freezing and heating

If contamination is detected, freezing the product for several days can be an effective control. Contaminated products should be kept at 0 ° C (-18 ° C) until the cold encompasses all parts of the packaging. Four days of frost can kill the various stages of Indianmeal moth life (larvae, puppies, adult insects). Warming up to 130 degrees Fahrenheit to 150 degrees Fahrenheit (54 degrees Celsius to 66 degrees C) for 24 hours in contaminated sites will also kill the insect population Plodia interpunctella. Small amounts of contaminants can be treated in their original packaging or loose materials can be placed in a shallow pan. Then heat the material for 20 minutes at 150 ° F (66 ° C). If using an oven, leave the oven door open so that it does not overheat.

Chemical control

Many insecticides have been used to control the population of the Indianmeal moth (plodia interpunctella), but their effectiveness is limited. A study on the effectiveness of insect growth regulators showed that even after treatment with these chemicals, Indianmeal butterfly was present in corn storage bins. In another study using the same insect growth regulator, it was found that at 5 and 10 min no control was performed on fifth instar larvae. Only at 20 to 30 ppm did they control fifth instar larvae. Studies show that with increasing selective pressure, resistance will increase. Even this resistance was also observed in studies with the bacterial insecticide Bacillus thuringiensis (BT). The resistance of the Indianmeal moth (plodia interpunctella) was equally likely with exposure to Bt strains as well as mixtures of insecticide sequences. Resistance, when acquired by a generation of insects, will be inherited as a recessive trait and will be genetically stable over time.

Biological control of plodia interpunctella

Laboratory suppression has been observed in the laboratory using egg parasites and larvae. Larval parasites, Bracon hebetor (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) and egg parasite, Trichogramma pretiosum (Hymenoptera: Trichogrammatidae) have shown suppression of the Indianmeal moth population. When the parasites were used in combination, the suppression reached 84.3%. Trichogramma pretiosum alone can guarantee 37.3% of Indianmeal moth mortality.