Insect of the Month: Saw-toothed Grain Beetle (Oryzaephilus surinamensis)
Saw-toothed grain beetles can invade many types of packaging found in stores and pantries. They do not penetrate packaging but will use their small size to enter even minor packaging imperfections.
Their presence is usually found after opening a package and finding dark beetles in light-colored products like rice and flour. Both adults and larvae can feed on dry food products. They do not attack intact grains but will feed on damaged grains or powdered food products.
What do saw-toothed grain beetles look like?
Adults: Small, 2.5 mm (0.9 inches) long, and reddish brown. Beetles have 6 teeth on both sides of the thorax. Looking at the head of saw-toothed grain beetles, the segment behind the eye is close in length to the length of the eye where, in the similar looking merchant grain beetle, that segment in noticeably smaller. Also, the eyes of the two species are different sized: relatively smaller in saw-toothed and larger in merchant grain beetle.
Eggs: Eggs are not readily visible without microscopic examination.
Larvae: Larvae are 3-4 mm (0.14 inches) long, white to yellowish in color, and slightly flat. The last abdominal segment does not end in a prominent point like flour beetles.
Pupae: Pupae are similar in size to the larvae. The pupal chamber is usually attached to a food item and is constructed of food particles.
What is the saw-toothed grain beetle life cycle?
Female grain beetles will deposit 50-300 eggs in food during a 6-month -3 year life span. Eggs hatch in 5-12 days, and the larvae can mature within 35 days or if 50 days depending on temperature. These insects are very good at crawling on any surface including glass, and steel. Despite their size, they can roam some distance from infested food products.
Pheromone Traps for Saw-Toothed Grain Beetle
Monitoring Guidelines for Saw-toothed Grain Beetle (Oryzaephilus surinamensis)
Click on the image above to view monitoring guidelines for saw-toothed grain beetles. These guidelines include details on Description, Lifecycle, Damage and Detection, Corresponding Products, Fun Facts, and more!
Stay tuned
Next week we are going to be sharing a solution Insects Limited offers when dealing with saw-toothed grain beetles.
Related Insect and Pheromone Posts
Read more about insects and pheromones in these related posts:
Product of the Month: All Beetle AA Carpet Beetle Kit (IL-2110)
Insect of the Month: Varied Carpet Beetle (Anthrenus verbasci)
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