"I can haz weevil-infested hardtack?" "Yes, you can."
Posted here because I thought it may be of interest. Let me know if I am wrong.
(N.B. Before I go any further I wish to state that the following is no reflection on the general state of my kitchen. It is, I am afraid, one of the drawbacks of living in the countryside that the wildlife occasionally insists on coming indoors.)
"So You've Never Seen a Weevil?" by latin_cat
Did you know that the beloved weevil of the Age of Sail, that scourge of shipboard biscuit in every ocean, that fabled punchline of the mighty Aubrey wit, may not in fact be a true "weevil"?
What was then referred to as a "weevil" aboard ship in fact could refer not only to the true weevil family of Curculionidae (All those who were paying attention to the dialogue in the first dinner scene in Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World will remember Paul Bettany referring to "the same species of Curculia." The name of "weevil" was also given to a number of other beetles that are closely related to and behaved in the same way as true weevils, but do not belong to the same family.
Stegobium paniceum in the UK still bears the common name of Biscuit or Bread beetle (The following is the detailed Wiki article, under the American name of Drugstore beetle). It is a tiny brown beetle that makes its home amongst various dry goods (biscuit, flour, bread, cereal products and sometimes prescription drugs in powder or chalk tablet form) that favours high humidity and warmer climates - i.e. perfect conditions provided by an ocean voyage. Or an old, centrally-heated house.
Why am I writing about this? Well, let me explain...
This afternoon I was looking for something in one of my kitchen cupboards and was delighted, ha ha, to find three tiny brown Biscuit beetles looking back at me. Clearing out the cupboard I discovered the source of the beetles to be a long-forgotten packet of Ryvita which I had failed to put away safely in a tin, and being a paper packet the beetles had simply eaten through; which I suppose serves me right for not storing it properly in the first place. Needless to say the offending Ryvita was chucked away, a prompt sterilization of that and all adjoining cupboards took place, and my kitchen is once again beetle-less.
However, being a true Age of Sail nutcase enthusiast, I thought this too good an opportunity to pass up of demonstrating the effect of "weevils" on a "biscuit" - and so before the Ryvita was finally consigned to the dustbin I liberated a piece and took a few photographs.
So if you ever wanted to see a weevil, here now is your chance.*g*
Fig. 1 - A piece of infested Ryvita. The holes you can see will have mostly been caused by the larvae. A couple of adults can be seen on the surface.
Fig. 2 - And this is what happens when you tap the biscuit on a hard surface, as the sailors did, to remove the majority of the weevils. There may well have been more inside, but I had to tap a little gentler than the average sailor for fear of breaking the Ryvita.
Fig. 3 - Close up. If you look very carefully, there are several little white dots visible, especially towards the bottom-right of the frame. These I think, judging by the description, are larvae. They really are very tiny.
Hope this has been of use to those of you who have ever had a burning desire to see a "weevil" in action. For my part, I sincerely hope I shall not see them again for a very long time.
(N.B. Before I go any further I wish to state that the following is no reflection on the general state of my kitchen. It is, I am afraid, one of the drawbacks of living in the countryside that the wildlife occasionally insists on coming indoors.)
"So You've Never Seen a Weevil?" by latin_cat
Did you know that the beloved weevil of the Age of Sail, that scourge of shipboard biscuit in every ocean, that fabled punchline of the mighty Aubrey wit, may not in fact be a true "weevil"?
What was then referred to as a "weevil" aboard ship in fact could refer not only to the true weevil family of Curculionidae (All those who were paying attention to the dialogue in the first dinner scene in Master and Commander: The Far Side of the World will remember Paul Bettany referring to "the same species of Curculia." The name of "weevil" was also given to a number of other beetles that are closely related to and behaved in the same way as true weevils, but do not belong to the same family.
Stegobium paniceum in the UK still bears the common name of Biscuit or Bread beetle (The following is the detailed Wiki article, under the American name of Drugstore beetle). It is a tiny brown beetle that makes its home amongst various dry goods (biscuit, flour, bread, cereal products and sometimes prescription drugs in powder or chalk tablet form) that favours high humidity and warmer climates - i.e. perfect conditions provided by an ocean voyage. Or an old, centrally-heated house.
Why am I writing about this? Well, let me explain...
This afternoon I was looking for something in one of my kitchen cupboards and was delighted, ha ha, to find three tiny brown Biscuit beetles looking back at me. Clearing out the cupboard I discovered the source of the beetles to be a long-forgotten packet of Ryvita which I had failed to put away safely in a tin, and being a paper packet the beetles had simply eaten through; which I suppose serves me right for not storing it properly in the first place. Needless to say the offending Ryvita was chucked away, a prompt sterilization of that and all adjoining cupboards took place, and my kitchen is once again beetle-less.
However, being a true Age of Sail nutcase enthusiast, I thought this too good an opportunity to pass up of demonstrating the effect of "weevils" on a "biscuit" - and so before the Ryvita was finally consigned to the dustbin I liberated a piece and took a few photographs.
So if you ever wanted to see a weevil, here now is your chance.*g*
Fig. 1 - A piece of infested Ryvita. The holes you can see will have mostly been caused by the larvae. A couple of adults can be seen on the surface.
Fig. 2 - And this is what happens when you tap the biscuit on a hard surface, as the sailors did, to remove the majority of the weevils. There may well have been more inside, but I had to tap a little gentler than the average sailor for fear of breaking the Ryvita.
Fig. 3 - Close up. If you look very carefully, there are several little white dots visible, especially towards the bottom-right of the frame. These I think, judging by the description, are larvae. They really are very tiny.
Hope this has been of use to those of you who have ever had a burning desire to see a "weevil" in action. For my part, I sincerely hope I shall not see them again for a very long time.