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Beetles (Stored Product)
- Latin Name: Ptinus villiger
- Latin Family Name: Ptinidae
- Common Name: Hairy Spider Beetle
- Other Names: N/A
Origin:
Possibly European in origin but found throughout the world.
Biology:
Spider beetles in general are omnivores, and this species is known to feed as a scavenger on many foods such as dried mushrooms, animal feces, feathers, dead insects, dried fruit, grains, etc. It is partial to materials that may be in poor condition, somewhat damp, and moldy, and its presence may indicate an unsanitary condition that should be discovered and removed or cleaned. Damage to books or other non-food items occurs as the larvae bore into them to construct a chamber or cell in which to pupate. They are resistant to cold temperatures, making them more difficult to control by this method.
Identification:
Spider beetles
- Latin Name: Dermestes spp.
- Latin Family Name: Dermestidae
- Common Name: Hide Beetle
- Other Names: Leather beetle, incinerator beetle
Origin:
A number of species exist in this genus, including the common Dermestes maculatus, a species found worldwide and possibly originating in Europe or Asia.
Biology:
The Hide Beetles feed primarily on animal products as a scavenger, particularly on the flesh and skin, thus giving it the common name of “hide” beetle. They are used in museums to remove the last flesh from bones that are to be mounted as museum specimens, and may be found in carcasses on the ground, including human corpses, where their presence is used in the science of Forensic Entomology to determine facts about the crime scene. The hide beetles are not particularly a pest of food products, but prefer hides and skins,
- Latin Name: Trogoderma granarium
- Latin Family Name: Dermestidae
- Common Name: Khapra Beetle
- Other Names: N/A
Origin:
Native to India, but now present throughout the world where aggressive eradication efforts are not made. It was first discovered in the U.S. in California in 1953, possibly present for several years before that, and at this time it still remains eradicated from North America.
Biology:
The Khapra Beetle is one of the most feared of all stored grain product insect pests, based on its wide choice of foods, its reproductive potential, and its adaptability. Feeding damage is done only by the larvae, but they can feed on products too dry to sustain other insects, survive very cold temperatures, and live up to 3 years without feeding. There are also confirmed cases of humans suffering from severe intestinal pain following
- Latin Name: Dermestes lardarius
- Latin Family Name: Dermestidae
- Common Name: Larder Beetle
- Other Names: Hide beetle
Origin:
This beetle is found throughout the world, including in all of North America, where it is no longer found commonly as a food pest. This may be due partly to the better storage of meat products, which were often subjected to attack by this beetle.
Biology:
Typical of the family Dermestidae, the Larder Beetle attacks a very wide variety of products, from meat to grain products, cheese, tobacco, cereal and pet food products, as well as scavenging on dead insects and animal byproducts such as hair or wool. Females lay around 150 eggs in the food material or in crevices nearby. The larvae feed until they have completed 5 to 6 molts and are ready to pupate, at which time they often move from the food and wander off
- Latin Name: Rhizopertha dominica
- Latin Family Name: Bostrichidae
- Common Name: Lesser Grain Borer
- Other Names: N/A
Origin:
Possibly originating in the West Indies where it is believed to have fed on trees and their roots, this beetle is now found worldwide. Most other members of the family have larvae that are wood feeders, including several that are destructive to structural wood members and furniture.
Biology:
Eggs are laid on the outside of the food material, including whole grains such as corn, wheat, rice, or other grains, and the larvae bore through to feed within the grain. It is a pest primarily of grains and hard foods such as pet foods and pasta. The eggs are laid in small batches of 2 to 30 at a time, the larval development takes around 2 months under most conditions, and adults live only a few months. Both larvae and
- Latin Name: Alphitobius diaperinus
- Latin Family Name: Tenebrionidae
- Common Name: Lesser Mealworm
- Other Names: N/A
Origin:
This beetle is found throughout the world, as a minor pest of stored food products.
Biology:
The lesser mealworm prefers grain based foods that are in damp, moldy condition, often a condition of animal feeds in agricultural settings. It also infests poultry and other bird droppings, and may be present in structures where bird populations, such as pigeons, have left large accumulations of fecal material. In chicken ranches the beetles can occur in enormous numbers in the piles of fecal material under the chicken barns, where they may serve a benefit in the increased composting of the feces through the beetle activity there.
Identification:
Larvae have a typical appearance for this
- Latin Name: Oryzaephilus mercator
- Latin Family Name: Silvanidae
- Common Name: Merchant Grain Beetle
- Other Names: N/A
Origin:
Possibly unknown, as this beetle has been found worldwide for many centuries.
Biology:
The tiny grain beetles are members of a family of beetles that often are found under the loose bark of logs, where they are predators on other, smaller arthropods. The grain beetles sometimes are placed into a separate family called the Silvanidae, or “flat grain beetles”. These are all extremely flattened, narrow beetles which are capable of entering packages of food through the smallest of openings. They will feed on the wide range of vegetable-based food products, including rodent baits, but are not capable of attacking whole, unprocessed grains that are in good condition. The insects are relatively inactive
- Latin Name: Lathridius sp.
- Latin Family Name: Latridiidae
- Common Name: Minute Brown Scavenger Beetle
- Other Names: Fungus beetle
Origin:
There are many native species of these beetles in North America, and likely some non-native species found in food products.
Biology:
This is another group of very small beetles that may infest moldy stored food products. Almost all species are very small adult beetles that are usually associated with fungus of some kind. They may also occur in old bird or rodent nests as well as occasionally infesting foods that are in poor condition. Their presence in a structure may be an indication that an excessive moisture condition is present with growth of molds or decay fungi. They may also be in grain-based foods that have been stored too long or in damp condition, and 4 or 5 species have been identified
- Latin Name: Tribolium castaneum
- Latin Family Name: Tenebrionidae
- Common Name: Red Flour Beetle
- Other Names: Bran bug
Origin:
Native to the Indo-Australian region, but now found as a pest of food products throughout the world.
Biology:
Very similar in appearance, biology, and habits to the Confused Flour Beetle, the Red flour beetle is a scavenger that feeds on virtually any vegetable-based food products, but it is unable to feed on whole, undamaged grains. It may occur in conjunction with the weevils that bore into grains, feeding on the grain once it is opened by the weevil. When present in great numbers they cause flour products to turn gray and distasteful and to mold more quickly. Flour and meal products are especially prone to infestation by the flour beetles in general. Adult beetles may live more than 3
- Latin Name: Necrobia rufipes
- Latin Family Name: Cleridae
- Common Name: Red Legged Ham Beetle
- Other Names: Ham beetle
Origin:
Possibly native to northern Africa, as the beetles have been found in Egyptian mummies. The Red-legged Ham Beetle is now found throughout the world.
Biology:
The ham beetles are in a large family of beetles whose species are almost all predators on other insects. However, several species also feed on meat products, such as cured or smoked meats, bacon, cheese, or oil seeds. These species also feed on other insect larvae they may find in these foods. Ham beetles also feed on animal products in processes such as taxidermy, where they may be a nuisance as they feed within antlers or other residual meat materials. Both adults and larvae feed, and the adults have been known to “bite” when handled. Adult