Weevils

Have you ever open a bag of rice grains or cereal products to notice that small beetles have invaded the whole bag? How can they enter the bag when it's sealed? While the college is still sorting out our timetables and I'm free from assignments and tests, I took the effort to cook simple meal (it's actually heating coz those are the food that I brought back) to save money. Today, I noticed that my bag of brown rice is full with these tiny, black beetles. It is pwetty annoying coz I spent almost 20 minutes to wash the rice while picking up each and single beetle. So what is this rice beetle?

My new pets that do not require any attention or love.
They simply need a bag of grains. Say hi to Weevils!

Weevil is a type of bug or beetle that is found in rice grains and cereal products. These pests often damage crops by laying their eggs in grain kernels and later sealing it with gelatinous secretions. With a warm temperature, the larva develops within the grain and eat its way out. That explains why my grains are hollow and empty inside. 'Weevil' sounds like 'We evil'. They are indeed evil coz they feed on my rice. Who the hell give them permission to do so?!

 

Don't freak out but a female weevil can lays from 36 up to 254 eggs. With the proper temperature, which is between 80 to 86 degree F, 75-90% humidity, the eggs will hatch in 3 days and the larvae mature in 18 days and 6 days as pupa. The life cycle depends closely on the temperature. On summer, it lasts for about 30-40 days while 123 to 148 days in winter.

The best way to get rid off weevils is to

• Inspect all grains upon purchase
• Freeze grains for at least 1 week (or store permanently in the freezer) to kill any eggs
• Buy grains in small quantity and eat within a reasonable period of time
• Store grains in tightly sealed glass, metal or sturdy containers
• Regularly clean pantry racks and shelves
• Placed small bags of black pepper around pantry to repel weevils
• Placed dry bay leaves or cloves in each container or bag of flour to discourage weevil infestation

Besides, the presence of weevils indicate the freshness of the grains and cereal products. So you know how to determine the freshness of the products now. Fortunately, all stages of the weevils can be killed easily by super heating or cooling. Simply heat in a shallow pan in the oven at 120 degree F for about an hour or in the microwave for 5 minutes or place in a freezer at 0 degree F for 4 days.

There's no answer to whether is there any nutritious value left in the grains that have been infested by weevil. From my understanding, I would say that there's no more nutrition in there. What left by the beetle is only an empty capsule. Nothing more. So I suggest to never buy weevils infested products.

Empty in the inside

 

Why are Chemistry lectures all that sarcastic? First on the list is Ms Jaclyn and the second one would be Ms Annie. I just love hearing to their sarcastic comments. My personal form of entertainment. As for Bio, I'm gonna miss Ms Shima very much. Mr James's class bored me to death. No offense but it's very boring and the lectures notes are incomplete. Another thing that Mr James expect us to do is to be PERFECT! Hell?! He clearly explained how perfect is his perfect. I know I always strive for perfection but I never expected others to expect me to do so. Very stress leh. This semester shall make me a morning person. All classes start at 8 in the morning with long breaks in between. Urgghh. Such a pain in the ass.

 

Nothing much. No class tomorrow so perhaps another entry tomorrow. If and only if I'm that hardworking. Before I go off, Mother's Day is  this Sunday, 11th of May. Set your remainder and start your surprise!

 

Thanks for reading.

Ciao!

 

 

References:

1. Emily Ho, 2011. How to prevent & get rid of grain weevils. Available at: <http://www.thekitchn.com/how-to-prevent-get-rid-of-grai-140955>

2. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rice_weevil