For livestock owners, Flour Beetles can be a problem because they enjoy feeding on the grains used to feed these animals and the animals will refuse to eat it if Flour Beetles are present. If they are discovered in grains or food products, the products will have to be tossed out. They will not feed on or destroy furniture like many household pests. Adult Flour Beetles generally only live for about a year, but have been known to live up to 3 years in some areas.įlour Beetles are more of a nuisance than a damage-causing pest.
It only takes the Flour Beetle four months to reach adulthood once hatched. Once they hatch, they will immediately begin to feed and grow into larvae. It only takes Flour Beetle eggs 5-12 days to hatch. She will lay her eggs on broken kernels or other loose food materials. The female Flour Beetle has the ability to lay up to 450 eggs. Unlike many other insects, Flour Beetles mate and lay their eggs in the food they are contaminating. While Flour Beetles aren’t able to eat whole grains, they do feed on dockage, fines and grain dust. The Red Flour beetles goes through a complete metamorphosis - egg, larvae, pupae, and adult.įlour Beetles get their name because they most commonly infest flour and other grains. The Confused Flour Beetle is darker in color and will not fly. The Red Flour beetles are lighter in color and will sometimes fly. Because their antennae grow gradually from the “bottom up” their clubbed antennae consist of four segments.
Confused Flour Beetles are not able to fly and their antennae have segments that grow from base all the way to the tip, gradually. It is believed that the Confused Flour Beetles originated in Africa. This makes them more prominent in the Northern United States. Also worth noting is that the Red Flour Beetle’s thorax is curved while the Confused Flour Beetle’s thorax is straight.Ĭonfused Flour Beetles or Tribolium confusum, are have been distributed all over the world, but prefer coolor temperatures. Their antennae consist of only three segments, and the tip is much longer than the previous segments. Also unlike Confused Flour Beetles, the Red Flour Beetle has the ability to fly. In the United States, they are the most prominent in the Southern states. Red Flour Beetlesor Tribolium castaneum, are believed to have Indo-Australian roots and prefer temperate areas, but can survive colder temperatures as well. Both of these Flour Beetles have unique physical characteristics and qualities. There are two types of Flour Beetles – the Confused Flour Beetle and the Red Flour Beetle. Types of Flour Beetles - Red and Confused Flour Beetles The pupae is actually a soft shell inside which the matured larvae develops and fully matures into a fully grown adult beetle capable of reproduction and widespread infestations. The larvae then goes through a transformation phase and becomes a pupae. Once the larvae are mature and developed, they will take on a yellowish tint and are about 3/16 of an inch long. These eggs hatch into tiny creamy colored - brownish white larvae. This important difference makes the red flour beetle much more capable of widespread infestation.įlour Beetles go through a complete metamorphosis, just like a fly or a flea and lay tiny eggs that are clear to white in color. Flour Beetles have small wings and while the red flour beetle can fly, the confused flour beetle cannot. While they do have the ability to chew, they do not sting or bite.įlour beetles have two small antennae, and the appearance of the antennae is one of the main ways to distinguish the type of Flour Beetle you are dealing with. Their bodies are flat and elongated and are a shiny reddish-brown in color.
A careful inspection with a magnifying glass will help.įlour Beetles, or “bran bugs,” only grow to approximately 1/8 of an inch long. The Confused Flour Beetle's Antennea ends with 3 equal beads. The Red Flour Beetle's antennae ends with 3 gradually tapered beads. Red and Confused Flour Beetle Identification.
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