Infestation!

 Last fall I got some bulk wheat.  It can be pretty cheap when bought in 25- or 50-pound bags.  I got a 25-pound bag of red and white (each).  I have been using the red, but hadn't gotten into the white yet.  Sigh.

I put the wheat into some used PETE pretzel barrels, then just put them on the shelf, where they sat untouched for about eight months.

Then today I noticed this:

At first glance, I thought it might be mold, meaning the wheat hadn't been dry when it went into the containers.  But no, as you can see, it's not mold at all.

My apologies for the small, dark, grainy ultra closeup.  My wheat is infested with weevils, who are having a great time in the pretzel barrels.  I had heard about this being a possibility, and various sites warn about it, but I hadn't had it happen with me before.  I have been buying whole berries for years, and they often sit on the shelf for several months before being used up.

I'll obviously have to deal with this.  Oxygen absorbers are recommended for long-term food storage; the removal of oxygen slows the deterioration of the food.  However, dropping O2 levels below one percent for several days also kills eggs and bugs.  I didn't use oxygen absorbers for this wheat, obviously.  Another solution (mentioned by the site linked above) is freezing. The red is fine.  But all three containers of white wheat are... alive.  But not for long.