Rust-Red Flour Beetles

Latin Name: Tribolium castaneum

Months of Activity: April - September

The Rust-Red Flour Beetle is an introduced pest species that attacks stored food products in cereal mills, food processing plants, grocery stores, households, and ships. It does not feed on or damage timber or furniture.

The Rust-Red Flour Beetle will fly when conditions are hot and humid.

Appearance

• The adult Rust-Red Flour Beetle is reddish-brown with antennae that end in a prominent three-segmented club. It is similar in appearance to the Confused Flour Beetle, which is slightly larger and has antennae that thicken gradually into a four segment club.
• The larvae are whitish to yellow-brown and grow to a length of 1-5mm. They have 3 pairs of legs and will moult 7-8 times.

Lifecycle

Adults may live longer than 3 years, and females may lay eggs for more than a year. Eggs are deposited directly in flour, other food material, or attached to the surface of the container. They are white or colourless and covered by a sticky material to which flour can adhere. Eggs hatch in 3-5 days at 32-35°C. The larvae burrow into kernels of grain but may leave their burrows in search of a more favourable food.

The larval stage ranges from about 22 days to over 100 depending on temperature - the average is 26 days. Adults emerge from the pupa after about 8 days.

Pest Control

Rust-Red Flour Beetles can be found infesting a variety of grain and food materials. They have been reported in grain, flour, and other cereal products, beans, cacao, cottonseed, shelled nuts, dried fruit, dried vegetables, drugs, spices, chocolate, dried milk and animal hides. They cannot feed on whole grain, but can feed on broken kernels.

Limited chemical controls are available to farmers and emphasis is placed on clean hygienic storage and cleaning of machinery. Farmers are encouraged to purchase and maintain sealed farm silos to increase the effectiveness of fumigation.

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