Could be Grain Weevil Rice Weevil Snout Beetle Out of interest what's in the bird feed, by the way it's not from the grain sample we sent you, we checked it to make sure
Its a mixed bag of seed we bought from Amazon - the bag itself is in the house and absolutely fine - these were in the feeders outside, so your diagnosis would concur - definitely not from your grain @Jiffy Thanks
If you have wheat in the mix, check to see if there is any wheat with hole in as grain weevil will eat it's way in and lay it's eggs inside the grain then hatch later
I'll take a look - other than eating into the grain, I presume they won't be all that harmful in the feeders as the birds will eat the eggs?
To put your mind at rest grain weevil will not harm the birds/wildlife but as a precaution i would try and find a home for the bag of seed outside ie shed, if it's grain weevil they will make a bee line for any flour/biscuits etc you may have in your house
We don't currently have room, in the shed, but I will try to clear a space - currently, they are in the front porch, so away from the kitchen, and at the moment at least there is no sign of them in the bag - only the feeders hanging out in the back garden.
You mite not even see them in the bag, take a small sample out put into a small plate etc then put it under a warm lamp and they will wake up, with grain weevil if you touch them there play dead they can live even if they are put into a sealed container without air, 12 months later open and under heat lamp and they wake up Is there any flour/powder in the bag from them eating any grain? https://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=7&cad=rja&uact=8&ved=0ahUKEwj95Pux1Z_VAhXjDcAKHbvaCCkQFgg-MAY&url=http://storedgrain.com.au/wp-content/uploads/2013/05/Stored-grain-pests_NorthSouthWest_Pocketguide.pdf&usg=AFQjCNEDEXxfu22C1jSdvtbiuOR2hZaZWA
Mrs C just went back to the bag while I was in the shower, and it is crawling with them - so, its been evicted to the shed, I will just have to rearrange things around it. Looks like they have come free with the seed.
Ah well, we will give the birds a bean feast then and get through the bag quick. Is there any way to prevent future bags being infested in the same way?
All products of that nature and raw materials are sold infestation free therefore you should be able to return it. It's worth noting that they have a infestation problem, in theory this can happern in any storage facility but it shouldn't have got this far Just had a thought, have you checked your office Hobnobs - they're very partial to them !!!