Mealworms are the larval form of the yellow mealworm beetle, Tenebrio molitor, a species of darkling beetle.
Darkling beetle is the common name for members of the beetle family Tenebrionidae, comprising over 20,000 species in a cosmopolitan distribution.
The drugstore beetle, also known as the bread beetle, biscuit beetle, and misnamed as the biscuit weevil, is a tiny, brown beetle. It can be found infesting a wide variety of dried plant products, where it is among the most common non-weevils to be found. It is the only living member of the genus Stegobium. It belongs to the family Ptinidae, which also includes the deathwatch beetle and furniture beetle. A notable characteristic of this species is the symbiotic relationship the beetles have with the yeast they carry, which are transmitted from female to larvae through the oviduct.
The Indianmeal moth, also spelled Indian meal moth and Indian-meal moth, is a pyraloid moth of the family Pyralidae. Alternative common names are hanger-downers, weevil moth, pantry moth, flour moth or grain moth. The almond moth and the raisin moth are commonly confused with the Indian-meal moth due to similar food sources and appearance. The species was named for feeding on Indian meal or cornmeal, and does not occur natively in India. It is also not to be confused with the Mediterranean flour moth, another common pest of stored grains.
Tenebrio obscurus, or the dark mealworm beetle, is a species of darkling beetle whose larvae are known as mini mealworms. These insects should not be confused with younger mealworms or with the confused flour beetle.
The almond moth or tropical warehouse moth is a small, stored-product pest. Almond moths infest flour, bran, oats, and other grains, as well as dried fruits. It belongs to the family of snout moths (Pyralidae), and more specifically to the tribe Phycitini of the huge snout moth subfamily Phycitinae. This species may be confused with the related Indian mealmoth or the Mediterranean flour moth, which are also common pantry pests in the same subfamily.
The Mediterranean flour moth or mill moth is a moth of the family Pyralidae. It is a common pest of cereal grains, especially flour. This moth is found throughout the world, especially in countries with temperate climates. It prefers warm temperatures for more rapid development, but it can survive a wide range of temperatures.
Lasioderma serricorne, more commonly referred to as the cigarette beetle, cigar beetle, or tobacco beetle, is a small beetle that shares a remarkable resemblance with the drugstore beetle and the common furniture beetle. The cigarette beetle, along with the drugstore and furniture beetles, all belong to the Ptinidae beetle family. The cigarette beetle can be distinguished from A. punctatum by its flatter thorax, whereas the A. punctatum boasts a humped thorax. The cigarette beetle can be further differentiated from S. paniceum with its uniformly serrated antennae composed of 11 segments, unlike the three-segmented antennae of S. paniceum. Additionally, L. serricorne has more shallow grooves in its elytra, or hardened wing covers, compared to the A. punctatum and S. paniceum’s deep grooving.
Home-stored product entomology is the study of insects that infest foodstuffs stored in the home. It deals with the prevention, detection and eradication of pests.
The confused flour beetle, a type of darkling beetle known as a flour beetle, is a globally found, common pest insect known for attacking and infesting stored flour and grain. They are one of the most common and most destructive insect pests for grain and other food products stored in silos, warehouses, grocery stores, and homes. They engage in cannibalistic behaviors for population control and nutritional benefits. Tribolium confusum practices kin selection to improve individual fitness. Multiple chemicals have been used to manage their infestation, including pyrethin and fungal insecticides.
Tenebrioninae is the largest subfamily of the darkling beetles (Tenebrionidae), containing flour beetles, among others. Tenebrioninae contains more than 20 tribes.
The red flour beetle is a species of beetle in the family Tenebrionidae, the darkling beetles. The red flour beetle, and other closely related beetles like the Gnatocerus cornutus, are a worldwide pest of stored products, particularly food grains, and a model organism for ethological and food safety research.
Tenebroides mauritanicus, commonly known as the cadelle, is a species of beetle in the family Trogossitidae. It is a common cosmopolitan pest in storehouses and granaries.
The maize weevil, known in the United States as the greater rice weevil, is a species of beetle in the family Curculionidae. It can be found in numerous tropical areas around the world, and in the United States, and is a major pest of maize. This species attacks both standing crops and stored cereal products, including wheat, rice, sorghum, oats, barley, rye, buckwheat, peas, and cottonseed. The maize weevil also infests other types of stored, processed cereal products such as pasta, cassava, and various coarse, milled grains. It has even been known to attack fruit while in storage, such as apples.
Anthrenocerus australis is a species of beetle belonging to the Dermestidae family. It is commonly known as the Australian carpet beetle and is one of the most researched of the thirty-one species in the Anthrenocerus genus. This is generally attributed to its prevalence throughout Australia and New Zealand and the negative economic and agricultural impact it has as a pest. It is the larvae that causes damage to products, not the adult beetle. The total life cycle of this insect is around three years, most of which is spent as a larva. Once the beetle reaches maturity, it only lives for between two and six weeks.
Acarophenacidae is a family of mites in the order Trombidiformes that are egg parasitoids and ectoparasites of beetles or thrips. It contains eight genera and around 40 species.
Alphitobius diaperinus is a species of beetle in the family Tenebrionidae, the darkling beetles. It is known commonly as the lesser mealworm and the litter beetle. It has a cosmopolitan distribution, occurring nearly worldwide. It is known widely as a pest insect of stored food grain products such as flour, and of poultry-rearing facilities and it is a vector of many kinds of animal pathogens. In larval form, it is an approved novel food in the European Union, and also used as animal feed.
Tribolium is a genus of flour beetles in the family Tenebrionidae. They are known by various common names including flour beetles, flour weevils, red weevils and bran bugs.
A storage pest is an insect or other animal that damages or destroys stored food or other stored valuable organic matter. Insects are a large proportion of storage pests with each type of crop having specific insects that gravitate towards them such as the genus Tribolium that consists of insects such as Tribolium castaneum or Tribolium confusum which damage flour crops primarily.
A plastivore is an organism capable of degrading and metabolising plastic. While plastic is normally thought of as non-biodegradable, a variety of bacteria, fungi and insects have been found to degrade it.
