Stored Product Pests
Stored Product Pests
Stored product pests are found living in dried products (e.g. dried fruits, spices, flour, bran, peas, dried vegetables, dried flowers, grain, cereal products, dog food, nuts, candy, macaroni, etc.) Stored product pests contaminate far more food than they eat and are common in food processing plants, as well as domestic settings.
Identification
The most common stored product pests are the red and the confused flour beetle, the saw toothed and the merchant grain beetle, and the Indian meal moth. The confused flour beetle is often mistaken with the red flour beetle but the antennae of the confused flour beetle is gradually enlarged whereas the red flour beetle’s antenna enlarges abruptly to form a three segmented club. The confused flour beetle is more common than the red flour beetle.
Habitat
The confused flour beetle is commonly found in cereal products, dried fruits, spices etc. The grain beetle is found foods such as breakfast cereals, flour, dried fruits, macaroni, dried meats, chocolate etc. They have the ability to penetrate any cracks and crevices to get into packaged food. The larva feeds on all kinds of grains, seeds, powdered milk, dog food, crackers, candy, nuts chocolate and dried fruit.
