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Instructions
Identify any special characteristics readily noticeable such as color and legs. Beetle larvae either have no legs or three pairs of legs close to their head. Moth larvae have three pairs of legs plus leg-like structures which go down their abdomen. Most larvae are whitish or yellowish in color, although they may have a tinge of another color, as well. For example, once fully grown in the larval stage, Indian meal moths are whitish with a slight pinkish or greenish hue.
Examine the larvae to see what kind of noticeable hairs it has. Cigarette beetle larvae, for example, are yellowish-white and have long, yellow-brown hairs over their whole bodies. Warehouse beetle larvae have dark plates on their bodies with stiff setae, or hairs, coming out of them and a long tail of thin hairs.
Measure a specimen of the found larvae. This is not always fail-proof due to the larvae growing throughout the larval stage, it may still give you an idea. Warehouse beetle larvae are 1/4 inch long when fully grown, while cigarette beetle larvae are only 1/6 inch long when fully grown. Full grown Indian meal moth larvae get up to 1/2 inch long.
Identify any adults in or around your pantry or kitchen. Meal moths have a shiny, copper-like color on their wings with a whitish inner-body. Warehouse beetles are oval, 1/8 inch long and have a pattern of brown and yellow on their wings. The sawtoothed and merchant grain beetles are small at only 1/10 inch long. They are flat, slender and brown with saw-like projections on their thorax. The confused and red flour beetles are reddish-brown and shiny, with 1/7 inch long flattened oval bodies. The cigarette and drugstore beetles are 1/8 inch long with a light brown, cylindrical body.
Contact a pest management company if you are still unsure of the larvae in your food. Some infestations are difficult to get rid of, especially if they have gone unnoticed for a long period of time.