Start with the Insect First: Angoumois Grain Moth
Quinn Kelley // Insects Limited
Pest issues can sometimes cause interesting scenarios. Often our customers will perform their own identification of what pest insect that they think that they have and then
order a set of pheromone traps and lures from us.
A few weeks later we might receive customer feedback
from them saying something along the lines of “Your traps
are not working!”.
Since our motto here at Insects Limited is to “Start with the
Insect First”, the first thing that we do if we get this response is to ask our customer for a photo or a sample of the insect in question.
Pheromone lures are very “species specific” in which pest species that they will attract. If the lure is not designed for a particular insect, it will not attract it at all.
The following is a case study of one mystery pest scenario from a valued customer placing their pheromone order. After hearing that our traps were not working, the first thing that we requested was an image of the insect itself. With this image (seen above), it’s now possible to learn so much about the problem and even more importantly; the solution.
In regards to this particular image that I received; they had recently purchased traps for the infamous webbing clothes moth; something anyone with a light-colored moth flying around their room might do. After about two weeks with no catches, though, they politely reached out to us for some guidance. From this image, we were able to tell there were some dark markings on the wings of the moth in question whereas webbing clothes moth wings are uni-colored with no dark markings whatsoever.
This told us that they in fact had purchased the wrong pheromone lures and unfortunately was needing the pheromone lure for the much rarer Angoumois Grain Moth, Sitotroga cerealella.
The Angoumois Grain Moth feeds on whole grains rather than the textiles, woolens and rugs which are the favorites of the clothes moth. We told this customer that Angoumois Grain Moths are internal feeders of grains and hard grain-based food materials and that they should look around for larvae eating children’s macaroni art or even fall decorations that incorporate grains and seeds.
Two hours after giving them this information we received a message back that they had found the culprit! The picture below reveals what they found. It was an infested piece of decorative Flint corn (Also known as Indian corn) in their storage room.
It is rare to find the source of your insects this quickly but it sure was a good reminder to always Start with the insect first.
Insects Limited, Inc. researches, tests, develops, manufactures and distributes pheromones and trapping systems for insects in a global marketplace with a focus on the statement above. The highly qualified staff also can assist with consultation, areas of expert witness, training presentations and grant writing.
Insects Limited, Inc. specializes in a unique niche of pest control that started out as an idea and has developed into a business that provides products and services that are mainstream in protecting stored food, grain, museum collections, tobacco, timber and fiber worldwide. Please take some time to view these products and services in our web store.
