Infestation problem with stored wheat

Weevils are potential problem with stored wheat. The moths lay their eggs on the seeds before they are harvested.

The weevil eggs or larvae may already be in the grain when it is harvested or when it is binned before shipment or packaging.

Rhyzopertha dominica

Grain that is cool, dry, and clean is unfavorable for the development of insects. They don not breed in clean grain unless the moisture content is 11% or above or the temperature is 80 degree or above.

If the grain contains floury dust or broken kernels, and if the temperature is 70 degree or above, they will breed in it regardless of the moisture content.

One of the major insect is Rhyzopertha dominica also known as the lesser grain borer, American wheat weevil, Australian wheat weevil, and stored grain borer. The adult and larvae bore in stored grains of all kinds.

Rhyzopertha dominica is better able to survive in drier grain than weevils, which probably accounts for its being a more serious pest of farm-stored when in the central and southern plains areas of the United States.
Infestation problem with stored wheat