Posted in Pest Worms

Larvae in the Pantry

A reader wrote to us recently about some larvae he found in his pantry. More precisely, he found them in a box of Kraft Macaroni and Cheese. (The fact that the larvae were found in Kraft Mac and Cheese is presumably irrelevant. Indeed, the fact that he found them in mac and cheese could be irrelevant.) Technically, the reader asked what type of worm he found in his pantry, but immediately following this he said that he thinks the “worms” he found turn into small, black beetles, which would of course make them larvae, not worms. (Beetles, like most insects, go through a larval stage on the road to maturity.) So, the reader definitely found larvae in his pantry, but what type of larva did he find?