American black flour beetle
Scientific name
Tribolium audax (Halstead)
Classification
Secondary pest; Grain feeder
Order: Coleoptera
Family: Tenebrionidae
Acronym: TAU
Description
- Adults are 2.8 to 4.5 mm long.
- Adults are most similar in appearance to Tribolium madens (black flour beetle).
- Eyes are relatively round (the black flour beetle’s eye is oval).
- Larvae are cylindrical and dark brown in colour.
Images
Similar species
- Black flour beetle (Tribolium madens)
- Red flour beetle (Tribolium castaneum)
- Confused flour beetle (Tribolium confusum)
Commodities affected
- Cereal grains, flour, meal, seeds and cereal products
Signs of infestation
- Disagreeable odour in the commodity is an early indication
Damage
- Damage is not distinctive
How to control
Geographic range
- Throughout Canada
Where found
- Is occasionally found in empty granaries in western Canada
- Does not normally infest stored grain
- The American black flour beetle is found more often than the European black flour beetle.
Life history
- Adults live on average 2 to 3 months.
- Adult females lay up to 1000 eggs loosely among the food source.
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