American Spider Beetle Bean Weevil
Cigarette Beetle Cowpea Weevil
Dried Fruit Beetle Drugstore Beetle
Foreign Grain Beetles Indian Meal Moth
Larder Beetle Mediterranean Flour Moth
Red or Confused Flour Beetle Rice & Granary Weevils
Sawtoothed & Merchant Grain Beetles Shiny Spider Beetle
Warehouse & Cabinet Beetles  

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Sawtoothed & Merchant Grain Beetles Oryzaephilus surinamensis oryzaephilus mercator

Size:

1/10 inch

Color:

Brown to dark brown

Behavior:

One female merchant or sawtoothed grain beetle may produce up to 285 eggs deposited singly or in small batches within the food. Larvae are active crawlers and move about through the food as they feed. They are scavengers and not capable of feeding on whole grains unless other insects have first attacked the kernels. After molting 2 to 4 times, the larva pupates and the adults emerge in about 7 days. The entire life cycle from egg to adult takes 27 to 50+ days, depending on the food quality and temperature. The female beetle lives from 6 to 10 months and several generations per year may occur. Large populations of these beetles can develop in short periods, forcing adults to leave infested foods seeking new food sources. They have been known to invade every package or food stored near an infested food product. Infestations, therefore, are often widespread throughout a room or area. The merchant grain beetle can fly, but the sawtoothed grain beetle cannot.