If you buy a bag of flour, or pasta, and store it for a long time un-opened. Then one day you open it to find these little worms or moths in it. What are they and where did they come from??
2007-01-14 12:57:29 · 6 answers · asked by drivershunnyhunny 2 in Food & Drink ➔ Other - Food & Drink
meal worms, or rice and granary weevils. they come from the eggs which were already in the corn, rice, or wheat (grain) before it was processed.
2007-01-14 13:05:44 · answer #1 · answered by Butch 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
they are weevils. They infest the grains that flour is made of. The weevil lays its eggs in the grain and then the grain is milled to make flour. If the flour is left for a long time this time gives the eggs time to hatch and therefore you end up with the bugs in the flour.
Weevils are most likely to be observed in a domestic setting when opening a bag of flour although they will happily infest most types of grain including oats, barley and breakfast cereals. If ingested, E. coli infection and other various diseases can be contracted from weevils, depending on their diet.
2007-01-14 21:47:17 · answer #2 · answered by ? 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They are kinda like a meal worm. They occur when things like pasta or ramen noodles are old and they get inside the packaging... I haven't quite figured out how they got there though! I do know that in Flour if it isn't stored properly in an air tight container the bugs get in there easier, becuase there is nothing to prevent them from getting in it!
2007-01-14 21:02:16 · answer #3 · answered by ♥xvioletx1882♥ 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
These are types of weevils. You can find them in most flours, grains, rice, and pulses (beans, chick peas, etc.) They are usually in flour and other things that have been too long in storage. If you have them, clean your cupboard and make sure you have eliminated any packaged foods that might have them, as they are "invaders" and will end up getting into other foods and spoiling them also.
Don't use the flour for human consumption...at most, if you don't want to waste the flour, make a type of bread or cookies to use as bird feed...birds are used to bugs and won't mind them at all!
Or you can strain it to get rid of them and then make unedible handcraft figures with the dough (I think it was 2/3 flour and 1/3 salt and mix with water until you have a thick dough to work with. Check the proportions in any handcraft website). It's great for Xmas decorations, etc...
2007-01-14 22:28:25 · answer #4 · answered by abuela Nany 6 · 0⤊ 1⤋
these are called weevil bugs and they come from the grain that flour is made of. sometimes the grain doesn't get ground up enough and the bugs come from the kernel from the grain.
2007-01-14 22:30:32 · answer #5 · answered by sandydeedum1tx 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
They are called weevils. I don't know where they come from but they sure are annoying
2007-01-14 21:04:40 · answer #6 · answered by copchick2m7 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋