Meet The Granary Weevil, The Pantry Monster Of Our Own Creation

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January 8th, 2019

This granary weevil has set up shop inside a kernel. Even without wings, these stealthy stowaways — with the help of humans — have managed to infest grains all over the world for thousands of years.

Biophoto Associates / Getty Images/Science Source

If you store grains in your pantry, you’ve probably had the unfortunate experience of opening a package or jar to find tiny bugs living inside.

You’re not alone — there are more than 200 species of these pesky grain insects ruining dinner plans around the world on a daily basis. It’s no accident that they’ve made a home in your pantry — they’ve evolved along with humans. In a way, they contain a fascinating natural history of our own domestication.

This is particularly true of the granary weevil. A reddish-brown beetle that turns up in oats, rice, corn, dry pasta and more, it’s the only grain insect that has never been found outside of human food-storage situations.

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