Longheaded flour beetle

Classification

Primary pest (mills); grain feeder
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Tenebrionidae
Acronym: LOR

Description

• Adults are yellowish to brownish beetles that are slender and flattened, reaching a length of 3 mm.
• Adults have a comparatively large head with short antennae with a five segmented club.
• Larvae are pale yellow to cream in color with a dark head capsule and dark urogomphi.

Similar species

• Broadhorned flour beetle (Gnatocerus cornutus)
• Smalleyed flour beetle (Palorus ratzeburgii)
• Tribolium species

Commodities affected

• Pasta, dried cassava, oatmeal, provender, tea, sorghum, maize, cereal grains

Signs of infestation

• Disagreeable odour in the commodity is an indication of the presence of these beetles.
• Presence of large numbers is indicative of old stores of poor quality.

Damage

• Damage is not distinctive.
• Both adults and larvae feed on the commodity.

How to control

• Control grain insect pests

Geographic range

• Is distributed worldwide
• Is not known to be widely established in Canada but has been reported from ports in New Brunswick and Quebec and occurs infrequently on the Prairies

Where found

• Is not cold tolerant and thrives only in hot damp conditions
• Is considered a minor pest of stored grain
• Can be destructive in mills, granaries and holds of ships

Life history

• This beetle requires a very high minimum temperature for development to occur (25^oC).
• Females lay eggs at random throughout the food source.
• Larvae actively move through the food.