Insect
Red Flour Beetle
Tribolium castaneumAlso known as Rust-Red Flour Beetle
Red flour beetles thrive in stored grain facilities and home pantries across the globe, feeding on crushed grains, flour, and processed cereals. Adults can live for over a year and secrete defensive quinone compounds that give heavily contaminated food a sour odor. Beyond their status as economic pests, these darkling beetles serve as prominent laboratory model organisms for studying insect development, genetics, and ecology.
Household PestStored GrainModel Organism
—observations
—countries
—peak records
Not EvaluatedConservation statusIUCN Red List categoriesLCNTVUENCREWEXNot Evaluated — not placed on the risk ladderRed List categories, explained →
Diet & preyWheat flour, Crushed grain kernels, Dried yeast
Predators
- Predatory mites
- Parasitoid wasps
- Spiders
ThreatsFumigation, cold storage, pest control measures, and sanitation
HabitatsGrain elevators, flour mills, food warehouses, and home pantries
Life span1–3 years
Classification
- OrderColeoptera
- FamilyTenebrionidae
- GenusTribolium
- SpeciesTribolium castaneum
Range data is not available yet.
Interaction riskLow
- Low
- Moderate
- High
- Very high
- Why interaction risk is low
- Safe to observe at a normal distance.
Responsible observation
- Pantry Inspection: Examine unsealed packages of grain or flour for small reddish beetles and slender larvae.
- Lens Observation: Use a hand lens to check the antennae, which end in a distinct three-segmented club.
Competitor URSchmidt / CC BY-SA 4.0 · cc-by-sa
Co-Inhabitant (c) Udo Schmidt, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA) · cc-by-sa
Close Relative (c) M Kriek, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), uploaded by M Kriek · cc-by-sa
Family Relative no rights reserved · cc0
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