Appearance:

A slim beetle, 2.5-3.5 mm long, dark brown; neck shield has two deep longitudinal grooves and 6 sharply-pointed projections on each side. The slim, whitish-yellow larvae are freely mobile and grow to a length of 3.5-4 mm; the pupa lies free or between adhering food particles.

Life History:

The female deposits an average of about 150 eggs loosely in the infested goods. The total development period is 3-10 weeks, depending on temperature, nutrition and moisture; the lower development boundary is approx. 65° F. In the temperate zones, the beetle can survive the winter and live to an age of about 3 years.

Distribution:

World-wide.

Damage:

Found in warehouses, silos, mills, food-processing plants; infests grain and grain products, flour, oats, semolina, pearl barley, malt, whole meal and other vegetable stocks such as feeds and dried fruit. In granaries, it is usually found as a secondary pest together with other grain pests; is, however, occasionally found alone, as primary pest.