Lasioderma serricorne

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Lasioderma serricorne

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Insecta

Order: Coleoptera

Family: Ptinidae

Genus: Lasioderma

Species: L. serricorne

Binomial name

Lasioderma serricorne

(Fabricius, 1792)

Lasioderma serricorne, commonly known as the cigarette beetle, cigar beetle, or tobacco
beetle, is an insect very similar in appearance to the drugstore beetle (Stegobium paniceum) and
the common furniture beetle (Anobium punctatum). All three species belong to the
family Ptinidae.
L. serricorne is around 2–3 mm long, and brown in colour. The beetles, which can fly, live 2–6
weeks and do not feed as adults. They can be distinguished from A. punctatum by the fact
that A. punctatum has a thorax with a pronounced "humped" shape. S. paniceum and L.
serricorne have thoraces which have a much less obtuse looking angle when viewed from the
side compared to A. punctatum, and thus could be difficult to tell apart. However S.
paniceum has a distinct three-segmented "club" at the end of each antenna whereas L.
serricorne has uniformly serrated antennae of 11 segments. L. serricorne also has much weaker
punctures on the surface of the wing covers (elytra) than the other two species.
As indicated by its common name, the cigarette beetle is a pest of tobacco, both in the
refined cigarette packet presentation and also as stored in hogsheads and bales, but is also a
minor pest of oilcake, oilseeds, cereals, dried fruit, sage, flour, and some animal products.
The female beetle lays around 100 eggs loosely on the substrate to be fed upon. The larvae are
active and will move around on and bore into the product, feeding as they go. The complete life
cycle takes 26 days at 37 °C and 120 days at 20 °C. L. serricorne cannot tolerate the cold; adults
die within 6 days at 4 °C, and eggs survive 5 days at 0–5 °C.
The beetles carry a symbiotic yeast, Symbiotaphrina kochii, that is transmitted to the next
generation superficially on the eggs and carried internally in larvae and adults in the mycetome, a
specialized organ that is linked to the gut.[1] The yeast cells assist in the digestion of less
nutritious foods, supply needed B-vitamins and sterols, and provide resistance to certain
toxins.[2][3]

Control in commercial/industrial settings[edit]

several views

Insect monitoring traps are available for L. serricorne, which contain specific pheromones to attract male
beetles, and help detect and monitor infestations. Infested bulk tobacco in the form of bales or hogsheads
can be fumigated using methyl bromide or phosphine.
Dosage rates and treatment times with methyl bromide are 20 grams/m3 at 21 °C above and 32
grams/m3 for 48–72 hours at 7–20 °C. Methyl bromide is not recommended for cigar tobacco since it can
produce off odours in the product.
With phosphine dosage rates are one gram of phosphine (equivalent to a 3-gram table) per m3 for 5 days at
12–15 °C and 4 days at 16–20 °C and 3 days above 20 °C.
For localised or household-level infestations the preferred control measure is to find the infested product,
dispose of it, and treat around the area with a residual insecticide such as cypermethrin to kill off any
remaining beetles.

References[edit]

1. ^ Noda H, Kodama K (1996). "Phylogenetic position of yeastlike endosymbionts of anobiid beetles". Appl
Environ Microbiol. 62 (1): 162–7. PMC 167783. PMID 8572692.
2. ^ Dowd PF, Shen SK (1990). "The contribution of symbiotic yeast to toxin resistance of the cigarette beetle
(Lasioderma serricorne)". Entomol Exp Appl. 56 (3): 241–8. doi:10.1007/BF00163695.
3. ^ Nasir H, Noda H (2003). "Yeast-like symbiotes as a sterol source in anobiid beetles (Coleoptera,
Anobiidae): possible metabolic pathways from fungal sterols to 7-dehydrocholesterol". Arch Insect Biochem
Physiol. 52 (4): 175–82. doi:10.1002/arch.10079. PMID 12655605.
Red flour beetle
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
(Redirected from Tribolium castaneum)

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Red flour beetle

Scientific classification

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Insecta

Order: Coleoptera

Family: Tenebrionidae

Genus: Tribolium

Species: T. castaneum

Binomial name

Tribolium castaneum

(Herbst, 1797)

Wikispecies has
information related
to Tribolium castaneum
The red flour beetle (Tribolium castaneum) is a species of beetle in the family Tenebrionidae,
the darkling beetles. It is a worldwide pest of stored products, particularly food grains, and
a model organism for ethological[citation needed] and food safety[1] research.
The red flour beetle attacks stored grain and other food products including flour, cereals, pasta,
biscuits, beans, and nuts, causing loss and damage. The United Nations, in a recent post-
harvest compendium, estimated that Tribolium castaneum and Tribolium confusum, the confused
flour beetle, are "the two most common secondary pests of all plant commodities in store
throughout the world."[2]
The red flour beetle is of Indo-Australian origin and less able to survive outdoors than the closely
related species Tribolium confusum. It has, as a consequence, a more southern distribution,
though both species are worldwide in heated environments. The adult is long-lived, sometimes
living more than three years. Although previously regarded as a relatively sedentary insect, it has
been shown in molecular and ecological research to disperse considerable distances by flight.[3]

Adult

This species closely resembles the confused flour beetle, except with three clubs at the end of
each of its antennae.
Female red flour beetles are polyandrous in mating behavior. Within a single copulation period, a
single female will mate with multiple different males. Female red flour beetles engage in
polyandrous mating behavior in order to increase their fertility assurance. By mating with an
increased number of males, female beetles obtain a greater amount of sperm. Obtaining a
greater amount of sperm is especially important since many sexually active male red flour
beetles are non-virgins and may be sperm-depleted. It is important to note that red flour beetles
engage in polyandry to obtain a greater amount of sperm from males, not to increase the
likelihood of finding genetically compatible sperm.[4]