Confused Flour Beetle
Tribolium confusum (duVal)
Not sure why your pantry smells bad and your food tastes funny? This may be the result of the confused flour beetle. This household pest creates a foul odor in the food it infests, as it deposits up to 500 sticky-white eggs in your pantry staples including flour, nuts, fruits, and spices.
RISK LEVEL:
LOW
MEDIUM
HIGH
Risk is defined as how much damage each pest can be to you, your family, or your home
- You may notice a foul smell in food infested by flour beetles.
- Often found in flour, nuts, spices.
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| Class: | Order: | Family: | |
| Insecta | Coleoptera | Tenebrionidae | |
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| Size: | Confused flour beetle adult is 1/8 in (3-4 mm) long; full-grown larva is 1/8-1/4 in (4-5 mm) long. |
| Color: | The adult confused flour beetle is reddish brown. The larva is brownish-white or yellowish-white, the end of the non-movable last body segment being dark. |
| Characteristics: | Adult has gradually club-like antennae with 4-segmented club. Thorax sides are almost straight, much more so than the red flour beetle. Adult has wings, but is not known to fly. Full-grown larva have hard, cylindrical bodies, and are somewhat wiry looking. |
| Geographic Range: | Originating in Africa, confused flour beetles are now found around the world in cool climates. In the U.S. they are more common in the northern states. |
| Food: | Confused flour beetles have been observed attacking damaged grains and grain products, but are unable to feed on whole kernels of grain. They also eat peas and beans, shelled nuts, dried fruit, chocolate, spices (such as cayenne), snuff tobacco, drugs, plant and museum specimens, and even poison bait. |
| Biology: | The female confused flour beetle deposits 300-500 clear-white sticky eggs, 2-3 per day, in food materials in bags, or through the mesh of sacks containing food. Eggs hatch in 5-12 days, The complete life cycle takes 7 weeks to 3 months or more, depending on temperature. There are 4-5 generations per year in heated storage facilities and processing plants. |
Prevention Tips For
Stored Product Pests
Stored Product Pests
- Inspect incoming packages/products to ensure pests are not being brought into home
- Keep food in sealed containers
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