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Flat Grain Beetle
Image by USDA-ARS-GMPRC Image Database - License: Public Domain. (view image details)
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FLAT GRAIN BEETLE FACTS |
Identification
The Flat Grain Beetle is a small reddish brown beetle. It is flat and slender with wing covers that are twice as long as they are wide. The head and thorax are nearly as long as the abdomen. It has long beaded antennae. Adult beetles are strong fliers. The larvae are white and slightly flattened, growing to about 3mm long.
Other Names
Rust-red grain beetle, Rusty grain beetle
Size
length 1.5mm - 2mm
Food
The Flat Grain Beetle is a pest of all types of grain and also infests other stored products such as rice, dried fruits and seeds.
Breeding
The female Flat Grain Beetle lays small white oval eggs about 0.5mm long. The eggs are laid singly in crevices, grooves in grain kernels, gaps between kernels, or debris. The larvae burrow into grain kernels to feed. The larvae develop through four larval instars (stages) and then pupate in a silken cocoon. Larvae often form cocoons in hollows within grain kernels. The lifecycle from egg to adult takes about 22 - 24 days.
Range
Worldwide pest mainly in temperate regions. Found in all states of Australia
Classification
| Class: | Insecta | | Order: | Coleoptera | | Family: | Laemophloeidae | | Genus: | Cryptolestes | | Species: | pusillus | | Common Name: | Flat Grain Beetle |
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