Flat Grain Beetles
Species: Cryptolestes ferrugineus and Cryptolestes pusillus
Family: Laemophloeidae
Distribution
C. ferruginous and C. pusillus can be found worldwide, other species have restricted distributions.
Pest Type
Secondary pest
Identification
Adults are 1.5–2.0 mm, reddish-brown in colour, and dorsoventrally flattened. They have long antennae that are about as long as their body. They have a ridge running from behind their eyes and on the sides of their prothorax.
The larvae are about 3.0 mm long and are campodeiform. They are yellow to white in colour with a darkened head capsule and a pair of dark urogomphi (a paired structure present in certain larvae species of Coleopterans that grows out of the last segment and projects upward beyond the tip).
Life Cycle
At optimum conditions of 30℃, the life cycle will be completed in 21 days. Females lay eggs on the commodity. Larvae are mobile and cast skins throughout infested material, and they can survive without food for years. The adults don’t feed on commodities and have a short life span.
Commodities attacked
Feeds on various foods, including grains, cereals, flour, nuts, processed foods, dead animals, and plant materials.
Economic Importance
Of high economic importance especially in warehouses and storage facilities.
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