Lesser grain borer
Scientific name
Rhyzopertha dominica (F.)
Classification
Primary pest; Grain feeder
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Bostrichidae
Acronym: RDO
Description
- Adults are dark reddish brown and 3 mm long with distinctly shaped, loose 3-segmented club.
- Larvae are white and c-shaped. They are immobile at maturity with dark head capsule.
Images
Similar species
- Larger grain borer (Prostephanus truncatus, not found in Canada)
Commodities affected
- Nearly all grains, especially wheat, barley, sorghum and rice
- Seeds, dried fruit, drugs, cork, wood and paper products
Signs of infestation
- Large amounts of flour
- Tunnels and irregularly shaped holes in commodity
- Sweet odour in the grain
Damage
- Damage is distinctive and heavy
- Adults and larvae feed on germ and endosperm reducing kernels to shells of bran
- Adults and larvae also burrow through kernels
How to control
Geographic range
- Is found worldwide and across Canada, although is not common in all provinces
- Is not well established in Canada due to colder climate
Where found
- Is most common in buildings; may be found in shipping containers
Life history
- Lesser grain borer is one of the most injurious pests known to attack grain.
- Adults are mobile, able to fly and are long-lived.
- Females lay eggs one at a time or in batches of up to 30 eggs.
- Larvae live within the seed and are rarely found in sieve samples.
- Larvae pupate within grain kernel.
Video
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