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Common pest in food species

Pests found in food covers a large variety of insects, including beetles and moths.

Learn more below about common species of Stored Product Insects (SPIs) found in Canada.

Bean weevil

(Acanthoscelides obtectus)

Appearance

2.0 – 3.0mm long, mottled brown in color.
They have a ‘tear drop’ like body shape and are covered in short hairs.
Saw-tooth like antennae and elytra that do not cover the entire abdomen.

Lifecycle

Lifecycle usually lasts 2-4 months.
The larvae feed within the beans as they mature.
The larval stage can take from a few weeks to many months to complete, depending upon temperature and moisture of the bean. Pupation is within the bean. Circular holes are cut for the adult to emerge.
Development and breeding goes on as long as there is any food left in the bean and the temperature is right (warmer temperatures are preferred).

Habits

Larvae feed mostly inside beans.
These weevils attack all legumes, including kidney beans, green beans, peas and lentils.
Heavily infested peas are often reduced to shells.

Biscuit beetle

(Stegobium Paniceum)

Appearance

Adult — 1/16" - 1/8 in length. Humped thorax. Fine hairs cover the body. Elytra (wing cases) have ridges with indentations.
Larva — active in early stages of development. Bores into hard substances.
They are able to detoxify some poisonous substances.

Lifecycle

Life cycle — 200 days at 17°C, 70 days at 28°C. Adults live for 13 to 65 days.

Habits

Will often fly. Adults do not feed.

Booklice

(Various species - Liposcelis bostrychophila, Lepinotus patruelis)

Appearance

Adult — Size varies according to species. 1/16" - 1/8" long. Pale yellow–brown to dark brown in color.
Nymphs — very small, often appear transparent. No larval stages.

Lifecycle

Liposcelis bostrychophila — prefers high temperatures 25-30°C.
Lepinotus patruelis — will breed at 5-15°C.

Habits

Liposcelis bostrychophila — Common in homes.
Lepinotus patruelis — Common in factories and on pallets.

Broadhorned flour beetle

(Gnatocerus cornutus)

Appearance

An approximate 3.5 – 4.5mm in length, male broadhorned beetles have two enlarged mandibles on the head, giving the appearance of horns and thus their name. Females are very similar in appearance to the confused flour beetle.

Lifecycle

With temperature limits of 15-32°C, broadhorned flour beetles cannot complete their life cycle below 10°C.

Feeding Habits

Feeds on flour, dough, semolina etc. Moth eggs and larvae may supplement the broadhorned flour beetle diet.

Cheese mites

(Tyrophagus putrescentiae)

Appearance

Cheese mites have soft, hairy cream white bodies with 8 hairless legs and adults grow up to an approximate 0.5mm in length.

Lifecycle

The cheese mite favors warm, moist conditions and eggs mature in 10 days at room temperatures. Females can lay up to 900 eggs in a lifetime at a rate of 20 – 30 a day. Adult cheese mites can live for up to 60 – 70 days.

Feeding Habits

With a preference for old cheese to young cheese, these mites also feed on nuts, dried eggs, fruit, flour and tobacco. Cheese mites are capable of contaminating foods to cause skin or gut irritation.

Cigarette beetle

(Lasioderma serricorne)

The Cigarette beetle is a very common commercial pest.

Appearance

The Cigarette Beetle is about 2-4mm in length.
The adult is whitish in color, with the head dark brown to tan, and are densely haired.
The cigarette beetle closely resembles the drugstore beetle.
The cigarette beetle has the head bent down nearly at right angles to the body giving it a humped back appearance when viewed from the side.
The larvae are about 4 mm long and somewhat bent.

Lifecycle

The adult beetles live from 2 to 4 weeks and during this time the females may deposit between 10-100 eggs.
The eggs are laid loosely on the infested material.
The larval period usually ranges from four to five months, but under very favorable conditions the development from egg to adult may occur in 6 to 8 weeks.
When the larvae are fully grown, pupation occurs and they remain in this resting stage for 12 to 18 days.

Habits

The Cigarette Beetle feeds off tobacco, dry stored food products, spices, seeds, grains and dried plant material.
They have also been reported in rice, dried potatoes, paprika, raisins, grain-based mouse bait and dried straw flowers.
Adult beetles often wander away from infested materials and may be found throughout the area.

Confused flour beetle

(Tribolium Confusum)

The confused flour beetle was named because of the confusion over its identity. It is a very common commercial and pantry pest.

Appearance

The confused flour beetle is 3-4 mm in length, the larvae are about 6 mm long.
The adult is red-brown in color and the larvae are a light honey color and about.
It resembles the rust-red flour beetle, except for the antennae which is four segmented and gradually thickens towards the tip - another slight difference is in the shape of the thorax.
The sides of the rust-red flour beetle are curved, whereas the thorax of the confused flour beetle is straighter. It has well developed wings but seldom flies.

Lifecycle

About 20 days at 35°C, 45 days at 25°C. Adults may live for up to 6 months.

Habits

Feeds off 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 that are usually present.

Copra beetle/red legged ham beetle

(Necrobia Rufipes)

Appearance

Adults: 3/16" in length.
The upper surfaces of the body are a shiny metallic bluish-green. The underside of the abdomen is dark blue. Their legs are bright reddish-brown or orange. The antennae are reddish–brown with a dark brown or black club at the tip.

Lifecycle

Females lay up to 30 eggs per day in cracks or crevices of cured fish. The eggs take between four and six days to hatch.
The larvae will grow for 30 to 140 days, become less active and look for a dark place to pupate.
The pupal stage varies between 6 and 21 days.
An adult will mate soon after emerging from its pupal stage and can live for up to 14 months.

Habits

The adults fly and can therefore easily disperse to new sources of food.
They are destructive in both the larval and adult stages, although the larval stage is the most destructive.
They are also cannibalistic, preying on their own eggs and pupae.

Dermestes beetle

(Dermestes maculatus)

Appearance

Adult – 1/4"–3/8" in length. Black with a whitish band across the fore–part of the elytra.
Larva – comet shape. Quick moving. Brown in color and hairy. Migrate to pupate in solid material.

Lifecycle

2–3 months at 18–25°C.

Habits

Feeds on various animal products including cheese.

Flat grain beetle

(Cryptolestes Ferrugineus)

Appearance

Adult – 1/4"–3/8" in length. Black with a whitish band across the fore–part of the elytra.
Larva – comet shape. Quick moving. Brown in color and hairy. Migrate to pupate in solid material.

Lifecycle

Prefers warm damp conditions. 69–103 days at 21°C, 26 days at 38°C.

Habits

Adults are winged but rarely fly.
Feeds on cereals, dates, dried fruits and other commodities.

Flour mite/grain mite

(Acarus siro)

Appearance

Adult — 0.5 mm long. 4 pairs of legs. White or pale brown. Slow moving.
Larva — 6 legged and 0.5 mm long. White in color. Passes through two, 8 legged nymphal stages.

Lifecycle

9–11 days at 23°C and 90% relative humidity.

Habits

Under adverse conditions, may pass through a long and very resistant stage called a hypopus.

Furniture mite

(Glycyphagus domesticus)

Appearance

Adult – 0.3–0.7mm. Hairy soft cream–white body with yellow/brown legs.

Lifecycle

Egg to adult in 22 days at room temperature.
Adult lives for approximately 50 days.

Habits

Capable of tainting foods and causing gut irritation.
Commonly feeds on flour, cereals and fungi.
Favours moist environmental conditions; common in damp poorly ventilated rooms.

Golden spider beetle

(Niptus hololeucus)

Appearance

Adult — 1/8" - 3/16" in length. Ovoid abdomen with a pinched waist. Whole body covered in golden-yellow hairs.
Larva — similar to Australian spider beetle.

Lifecycle

6 - 7 months at 20°C. Adults can live up to 9 months.

Habits

Sometimes linked to the damage of textiles in the domestic home.
Adults appear in greater numbers in June/July and October/November.

Grain borer

(Prostephanus Truncatus)

Appearance

Brown body color. 1/16" to 3/16" in length.
Antennae have 3 large segments at the end forming visible antenna clubs, reddish in color.
The humped thorax covers the head, its front rim has teeth–like indentations.
Elytra (wing covers) are heavily punctated and drop off sharply at the back, giving the impression of a square end when seen from above.

Lifecycle

The female lays an average of 10 eggs on a grain of maize and the hatched larvae bore into the grain.
The larva undergoes up to 4 development phases and pupates inside the corn grain.
Lifecycles can be quite short, in good conditions (25 days at 34°C, 75% relative humidity) there are several generations per year.

Habits

Adult beetle is a pest of stored maize, but also infests other types of grain. Larvae bore tubular passages into the grain, typically making one main tunnel with smaller ones branching off.
Brought in from tropical Central America in cassava roots and tapioca products, as well as in starchy fruits and tubers.

Granary weevil

(Sitophilus Granarius)

The Granary Weevil is among the most destructive of all stored grain insects. The larvae develop inside kernels of whole grain in storage. This makes an infestation difficult to remove in the milling process.

Appearance

Dark brown-black in color.
It is about 2.5 - 5 mm in length.
They possess a long slender snout and cannot fly.
In the larval stage the weevils are legless, humpbacked, white to creamy white, with a small, tan head.
Weevils in the pupa stage have snouts like the adults.

Lifecycle

The egg, larva, and pupa stages of these weevils occur in the grain kernels and are rarely seen.
Emergence holes of the granary weevil are fairly large and tend to be more ragged than smooth and round.
Females drill a tiny hole in the grain kernel, deposit an egg in the cavity, then plug the hole with a gelatinous secretion.
The life cycle is about 30 to 40 days during the summer, and 123 to 148 days during the winter, depending on temperature.

Habits

Most of their life is spent within the grain kernel.
Both larvae and adults feed on grain.
Grain weevils will also attack hard cereal products, e.g. macaroni and spaghetti.

Larder beetle

(Dermestes lardarius)

Appearance

Dark brown-black in color.
It is about 2.5 - 5 mm in length.
They possess a long slender snout and cannot fly.
In the larval stage the weevils are legless, humpbacked, white to creamy white, with a small, tan head.
Weevils in the pupa stage have snouts like the adults.

Lifecycle

2–3 months at 18-25°C.

Habits

Feeds on various animal products including cheese.

Leather beetle

(Dermestes maculatus)

Appearance

Adult — 1/4"–3/8" in length. Uppermost is black, underside is white.
Larva — as D. lardarius but with an orange stripe running down the length of the back.

Lifecycle

2–3 months at 64-77°F.

Habits

Feeds on various animal products and dried fish. Pupates in solid material, e.g. wood.
The quantity of white on the underside may vary according to species. Adults fly readily.

Lesser grain beetle

(Rhyzopertha dominica)

Appearance

The lesser grain borer is black-brown in color.
It is about 2.5 - 3 mm long.
The body has a slender cylindrical form and the head is hidden under the round neck-shield.
The larvae are whitish with a yellow head.

Lifecycle

Adult females lay eggs singly or in groups of up to 30.
The eggs are laid on the outside of the grain and a female can lay from 300 - 500 eggs.
In hot summer conditions it may take as few as 30 days, but the average is about 58 days.
Pupation takes place inside the hollow shell of the seed or in the "flour" that accumulates with infested grain.

Habits

The lesser grain borer is primarily a pest in stored wheat and corn.
It can infest tobacco, nuts, beans, bird seed, biscuits, cassava, cocoa beans, dried fruit, peanuts, spices, rodenticide baits, and dried meat and fish.

Lesser mealworm

(Alphitobius diaperinus)

Appearance

Adults - 1/4" long. Newly moulted adults are reddish-brown turning black.
Larvae - 5/16" long. Slender, segmented and worm-like with three pairs of tiny legs on the thorax and one abdominal proleg at the rear.

Lifecycle

Females can lay up to at least 110 eggs a month and eggs hatch in 4-7 days. Larval development takes up to 7 weeks. Mature larvae seek a sheltered place to pupate for between 7 and 11 days.
An adult beetle may live up to two years.

Habits

The beetles are attracted to poultry operations, which have ideal conditions for their development. The damage to insulation is carried out by lesser mealworms seeking a safe place to pupate because the darkling beetles prey on the lesser mealworms.

Maize weevil

(Sitophilus zaemais)

Also known as the Greater Rice Weevil. Maize Weevils are frequently regarded as primary pests of grain since they are able to infest otherwise undamaged grain.

They have also been seen to infest buckwheat, peas, acorns, chestnuts and cottonseed.

Appearance

It is about 2.5 - 4 mm long.
The head has a long slender snout.
Resembles rice weevil, only bigger and the red-brown spots on wing covers are more clearly marked.
It is a stronger flier than the rice weevil.

Lifecycle

The egg, larva, and pupa stages of these weevils occur in the grain kernels and are rarely seen.
Females drill a tiny hole in the grain kernel, deposit an egg in the cavity, then plug the hole with a gelatinous secretion.
The egg hatches into a young larva which bores toward the center of the kernel, feeds, grows, and pupates there.
New adults bore emergence holes from the inside, then leave to mate and begin a new generation.

Habits

Both larvae and adults will feed upon grain.
Weevil-damaged grain can be readily recognized by the presence of large holes which are the exit holes of the emerging adults.

Merchant grain beetle

(Oryzaephilus Mercator)

Appearance

The adult beetle is dark brown.
Length is approximately 2.5mm to 3mm.
It has a slender, flattened body.
The adult can fly (although it rarely does).

Lifecycle

The females lays about 300 eggs in her lifetime.
Eggs are dropped loosely among grain kernels or tucked into a crevice in a kernel.
The tiny eggs are slender and white, and hatch in three to five days when environmental conditions are optimal .
The larvae emerge and crawl freely about the grain to feed on broken kernels. Larger larvae may tunnel into kernels to feed.
Total development from egg to adult requires about three to four weeks.

Habits

The Merchant Grain Beetle is a pest species found feeding in nuts, seeds, biscuits, dried fruit, grain and various other food products.
The beetles can chew through sealed packaging such as cardboard boxes, plastic bags and foil wrappings.

Mediterranean flour moth

(Ephestia kuhniella)

The Mediterranean flour moth larva is a very common commercial and pantry pest. It is a pest of mills and warehouses as it can clog machinery with its webs.

Appearance

Mediterranean Flour Moth adult has wingspread of about 20 – 22mm and when at rest it is 10 - 14 mm long.
The hind wings are dirty white while the forewings are blue-grey with transverse dark wavy bars and a row of dark spots at the tip.
The larvae are white in color with a brown head and neck shield.
The larvae can take on a pinkish or greenish hue and can reach a length of 15 - 20 mm.
The pupa form a brown, spindle shaped cocoon approximately 9 mm.

Lifecycle

The female lays between 100 - 700 eggs (usually 200) in and among the food source and usually fastens the eggs to the infested material.
The eggs usually hatch in 3 - 5 days and the hatching larvae produce a lot of webbing.
The young larvae confine themselves to silken tubes which are constantly spun.
The larva attains full size in around 40 days. The larva pupates in or on top of the infested material (usually flour) or in cracks and crevices nearby.
The life cycle can be completed in as few as 4 - 6 weeks but usually takes about 3 months.

Habits

The Mediterranean flour moth is mostly found infesting flour and meal.
It has also been found infesting grain, bran, cereal products, nuts, chocolate, seeds, beans, biscuits, dried fruits and other stored foods.

Rice weevil

(Sitophilus Oryzae)

Rice weevils are pests of stored grain and seeds.

Appearance

The adult rice weevil is 2.5 - 3.5 mm long and has a slender, hard-shelled bodies that appear pitted or scarred with tiny holes.
They are brown-black in color and possess a long slender snout.
Rice weevils have four faint red-brown spots on the back of the abdomen.

Lifecycle

The adults live 3 to 6 months, infesting grain in the field.
The egg, larva, and pupa stages of these weevils occur in the grain kernels and are rarely seen.
Females drill a tiny hole in the grain kernel, deposit an egg in the cavity, then plug the hole with a gelatinous secretion.
The egg hatches into a young larva which bores toward the center of the kernel, feeds, grows, and pupates there.
New adults bore emergence holes from the inside, then leave to mate and begin a new generation.
Female rice weevils lay between 300 to 400 eggs, with the life cycle requiring about 32 days for completion. Two larvae can develop in one wheat kernel.

Habits

The adults can feign death by drawing up their legs close to the body, falling, and remaining silent when disturbed.
Emergence holes of the rice weevil are smaller than those of the granary weevil, and tend to be smooth and round.
There is generally no external evidence that the larvae have been eating and growing inside the seed until after about one month when the adult weevil chews through the seed coat and emerges.

Rove beetles

(Paederus riparius)

Appearance

Adult – 5/16"–3/8". Body color is an alternating black and red.

Lifecycle

Eggs laid singly on moist substances and typically develop in 3–19 days.
The larvae pass through two stages before reaching adulthood.
Adults are most common in spring and early summer.

Habits

They are common in habitats with large numbers of fly larvae (e.g. decaying fruit or seaweed, compost).
The larvae and adults are general predators of small insects and other arthropods, including pests of crops.

Rust-red flour beetle

(Tribolium casteneum)

Appearance

The Rust-red flour beetle is red-brown in color.
3.0 - 4.0 5mm in length.
The antenna of the rust-red flour beetle is distinctly club-like, with a three segmented club and it has grooved wing covers.
The Rust-red flour beetle has well developed wings and has been observed to fly.
The larvae are a light honey color and about 6 mm long.
The head and a distinctive forked process at the tip of the abdomen are slightly darkened.

Lifecycle

Similar to T. confusum except maximum and minimum development temperatures are 2.5°C higher.

Habits

When agitated or crowded, they may secrete chemicals called quinones. These chemicals can cause the infested feed to turn pink and have a pungent odor.
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 that are usually present.
In general, fungi may play a significant role in the nutrition of rust-red flour beetles.

Saw toothed grain beetle

(Oryzaephilus Surinamensis)

The saw-toothed grain beetle is one of the most common insects in stored grain and cereal products

Appearance

Adult is brown and is approximately 3 mm.
Mature larva is yellowish white.
Adult has a flattened body.
Wings are present, developed, but they do cannot fly.

Lifecycle

The female lays eggs singly or in small batches in the food product. She lays about 200 eggs in her lifetime.
Eggs hatch after about 8 days.
The life cycle takes about 35 days and the larvae feed in the top few centimetres of the food stuff.
Adults usually live around 6 to 10 months.

Feeding Habits

The larvae develop in flour, cereal products, and many other dried foods, including grains, cereals, bread, pasta products, dried meat, dried fruit and nuts, sugar, chocolate, candy, tobacco products and drugs.
A common pest not only in grain bins, but also, mills, processing plants, warehouses, and kitchens.
In grain bins, it feeds on broken kernels and grain residues.
The beetles can chew through sealed packaging such as cardboard boxes, plastic bags and foil wrappings.

Shiny spider beetle

(Gibbium psylloides)

Appearance

Adult – 1/32"-1/8" long. They are shiny red-brown to black. The body is hairless, and lacks the general spider beetles characteristic restriction at the waist.

Lifecycle

Females lay up to 120 eggs either singly or in batches during early summer. The eggs hatch within 16 days, and remain in the larval stage for up to 6 weeks.
Adults emerge after 20-30 days of the pupal stage and may live for up to 12 months.
At the optimum temperature for development (33°C) it takes about 45 days for the life cycle to be complete.

Habits

Shiny spider beetles are tolerant of cool conditions and can stay alive for long periods without food.
If disturbed, they will act as if dead.

Tobacco moth

(Ephestia Elutella)

Appearance

The moth has a wing expanse of 14-17 mm; when at rest, the wings folded to a roof over the body, it is 8-11 mm long.
The adult moth has brownish grey forewings crossed with two light bands.
The hindwings are paler and plain grey.
The caterpillars are whitish, yellowish or reddish (depending on nutrition) with brown head and neck shields. They grow to a length of 10-15 mm.

Lifecycle

The female deposits about 100 eggs, singly or in small clusters.
The caterpillars cover the infested goods with webbing.
Pupation occurs in a cocoon.
The development period depends on warmth and nutrition. Depending on the season, complete development takes 2-6 months.

Habits

The Tobacco Moth feeds on cocoa beans and tobacco, but also infests nuts, dried fruit and cereals.
Adult moths do not feed.
The larval feeding cause the most damage due to contamination with excrement and cocoons is immense. Besides tobacco, the pest infests cocoa, nuts, dried fruits, coffee, corn maize, wheat and spice.

Warehouse beetle

(Trogoderma variabile)

Appearance

1.5-4.0mm long, and oval in shape.
Mostly dark brown in color, with mottled lighter brown markings.

Lifecycle

Lifecycle usually lasts between 1.5-6 months.
The larva is up to 10mm long, and pale cream with indistinct dark brown markings.
The larva has 3 pairs of legs and is very bristly.

Habits

This pest has recently been introduced into the U.S.
May be found in many organic materials such as seeds, grains, most types of packaged foods, snail baits, dog biscuits, stock feeds, old rodent baits, grain remnants in sacks, bee and wasp nests, rodent carcasses, dead insects, animal droppings etc.
The hairs dropped by larvae may cause human problems such as asthma, skin problems or gastric disorders.

White marked spider beetle

(Ptinus fur)

Appearance

Adult, 1/16"-3/16" long, red-brown with yellow hairs; prothorax with dense cushion of pale hairs on each side.
Wing cases (elytra) have white scales.

Lifecycle

3 - 4 months at 20-25°F.

Habits

Will feign death if disturbed. Active in dark, damp places. Often linked to birds nests.

Yellow mealworm beetle

(Tenebrio molitor)

Appearance

Adults – 3/4" long. They are shiny, dark–brown or black.
Larvae are honey–yellow, they have a smooth, highly polished, shiny, elongate, hard, worm-like body, and can grow to 1 3/16" long.

Lifecycle

Each female lays about 275–600 eggs singly or in clusters during the spring.
They are white, bean-shaped and about 1/32" long and hatch into larvae in 4 to 14 days.
The pupal stage lasts 7 to 24 days during the spring. Pupae are first white, turning yellow, and are not enclosed in a cocoon.
Adults emerge in the spring or early summer, living for two to three months.

Habits

They are highly resistant to cold temperatures.
It is an important post–harvest pest and occurs spread all over the world.
Adult beetles are attracted to night-lights, are strong fliers, and are found in dark places.

Cowpea weevil

(Callosobruchus maculatus)

Appearance

Adults — 3mm long.
They are reddish-brown in colour. Their wing covers (known as elytra) are black and grey and have two black spots.
The larva is whitish, C–shaped, with a small head.

Lifecycle

The eggs laid by the females hatch in 5 to 20 days.
Larvae typically take from 2 weeks to 6 months to develop before pupating inside dried peas.
Adults may be found outdoors in flowers in early spring.
Between six and seven generations may occur per year.

Habits

They prefer dried cowpeas but will attack other dried beans and peas in storage.
Adults move about readily and can infest seeds in the field, but can also breed continuously in dry, stored cowpeas.

Four spotted bean weevil

(Bruchus quadrimaculatus)

Appearance

Adult 4mm long.
Stout-bodied, shortened wing covers and a short broad snout.

Lifecycle

The female lays eggs into stored beans or into seed pods in the field.
When fully grown, the larvae form pupae in the eaten-out cavity of the bean.
Young adults chew their way out of the beans, mate, lay eggs and begin a new generation.
As many as six generations are produced in a single year.

Habits

The adults attack legumes either in storage or in the field and may completely destroy them.
Breeding continues in stored products as long as the products maintain their nutritional value and the storage environment is warm.

Fungus beetles

(Family Cryptophagidae)

Appearance

About 1.5mm (Plaster beetle) and 3.5mm (Fungus beetle).

Lifecycle

Life cycle usually completed at 54 days but can live for up to 5 months in warm temperatures.

Habits

Fungus beetles may carry moulds from one commodity to another in damp warehouses.
May contaminate food.
Minor pests on damp plaster, particularly in newly–built houses. Also in mills and warehouses where they may infest damp foodstuffs.