Stegobium paniceum

SPECIES: Stegobium paniceum (order Coleoptera)

COMMON NAME: Drugstore beetle

SIZE: The larvae are very small, from 0.15 to 0.5 mm; adults can grow up to 4 mm.

LIFECYCLE: Each female usually lays 20 to 100 eggs directly onto the food the larvae will consume or at least in its immediate vicinity in small groups of 4-5 eggs at a time. Once hatched, the larvae begin to procure food, penetrating packaging even through microscopic fissures due to their their tiny size. Drugstore beetle larvae are also very resilient and can survive without nourishment, in extremely low humidity, for some time, usually up to a week. They continue growing within the food, before entering a pupal stage for a period ranging from 12 to 18 days, in a pupal cell built by the larva with food particles cemented with saliva. The entire lifecycle of the Drugstore beetle also known as the Biscuit beetle typically takes 3-5 months. Drugstore beetles can produce 1 to 4 generations per year.

FEATURES: Similar in appearance to L. serricone, the Drugstore beetle is distinguished by its antennae. The adult varies in shades of reddish brown, and is covered by a short and thick hair. They are skilled fliers, able to move to and infest different areas even at some distance from their larval outbreak.

HABITAT: very often found in pasta factories as the beetle prefers starchy substances.

DIET: Polyphagous, eats paper, skins, but particularly vegetable substances rich in starch. Frequently found in dry bread, crackers, pasta, and biscuits, making its presence known by its characteristic perfectly round 1.5 mm holes, from which the adult emerges. It is attracted to UV lamps.

DAMAGE: contamination of foodstuffs.

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