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Conrad Bérubé |
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Confused
Flour Beetle
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Tribolium confusum (J. du Val) The confused flour beetle occurs throughout the world. In Canada, it is found in flour and feed mills and in homes and bakeries, surviving in those parts of the buildings and equipment that are inaccessible for cleaning. Occasionally, it is found in milled grain products stored in kitchens. It may also feed on beans, peas, nuts, spices, chocolate, drugs, and herbarium and museum specimens. Because the insect does not feed on sound wheat, it is seldom intercepted in grain elevators.
Larvae feed on flour and ground up material only as they are unable
to penetrate sound kernels. The adult beetles give off a malodorous
secretion that renders milled products unfit for consumption.
The adult is a brown beetle, about 4 mm long, and closely resembles the red flour beetle. Adult females have a life span of 2 years, while the males live a year longer. The female lays 200 to 700 eggs loosely in the food. From these small, white eggs are hatched wormlike larvae which are marked with yellow bands. Before pupating, the larvae may reach a length of 8 mm. Development from egg to adult may be completed in 24 to 26 days under optimum conditions — a temperature of 32 degrees and relative humidity of 70%. The temperature range for complete development is 20 to 37 degrees. These insects do not fly and they depend on local flour and grain residues for survival.
To prevent an infestation from developing, ensure that sanitary
practices are followed. In mills, equipment should be cleaned regularly.
To control an existing infestation, use an approved chemical for
spot fumigation or spot spraying after cleaning. On the prairies,
an infestation in a flour mill can be remedied by opening the mill
completely in the winter when the temperature has dropped to between
-20 and -30 degrees. Consult your provincial agricultural representative
for full details on the control of this pest. |
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