Moths

The Indianmeal Moth was given its common name by an early entomologist (Asa Fitch) who found it feeding on cornmeal (Indian meal). It is probably the most encountered pest of stored products found in the home and in grocery stores in the United States. The moth is distinguished by the wings being gray colored at the base and outer portion being reddish brown. The moths fly in the evening and usually take short flights. The caterpillars are about ½ inch long and colored yellow to pale green; they may be found among webs in the infested food, or wandering away from the food.
The adult moths usually stay close to the breeding site, which is milled flour or cornmeal but may also include dry pet food, seeds, chocolate and other household foods The caterpillars create silk webs over the surface of the food they are infesting, and there may be several caterpillars feeding at one site They often leave this site and travel some distance to pupate. Larvae can often be observed on walls traveling vertically towards ceilings.
The adults cause no damage. The larvae are surface feeders and generally produce a lot of webbing throughout the infested part of the materials. They are general feeders and attack grain and grain products, a wide variety of dried fruits, seeds, nuts, graham crackers, powdered milk, biscuits, chocolate, candies, dried red peppers, dried dog food, and bird seed. They are very destructive wherever dried fruits are stored. Preferred are the coarser grades of flour such as whole wheat, graham flour, and cornmeal, but they can breed in shelled or ear corn.When the larvae wander about looking for pupation sites in homes, they are often mistaken for clothes moth larvae. Likewise, when the moths are flying, they are also mistaken for clothes moths. Adults are attracted to light.