Page 72 - Florida Pest Control Examinations

SAWTOOTH GRAIN BEETLE MERCHANT GRAIN BEETLE SAWTOOTH & MERCHANT PUPA

Photo Courtesy of UNIVAR

SAWTOOTH & MERCHANT LARVA

Photo Courtesy of UNIVAR Photo Courtesy of UNIVAR
1.Antenna- 3 segmented club 6.Thorax- saw-like teeth SAWTOOTH GRAIN BEETLE
2.Eyes- compound 7.Petiole- none
3.Head 8.Abdomen- long & slender 1 5
4.Legs- 6 9.Color- dark brown 6
5.Wings- under elytra 10.Other- body pitted

Life Cycle
The female can lay as many as 285 eggs during a 5-month period. De-
pending upon temperature, they hatch in 3-17 days. The larvae will go
through about three molts, creating a pupal cell or cocoon. Adults can 4 8
live from a few days to a few years, with the whole life cycle completed
in 27-375 days.
Photo Courtesy of UNIVAR
SAWTOOTH GRAIN BEETLE
Actual size 1/8”
Sawtooth Grain Beetle adults are very small and slender, usually under 1/8th inch, dark brown, with
saw-like teeth on the prothorax. They feed on flour, bread, breakfast cereals, macaroni, and sugar--
just about any dried food products, but any grain kernels have to have been already damaged by other
pests. The larvae feed on the same material as the adults, and are pale colored. While they don’t con-
sume much, their presence alone is enough to consider the products they infest unusable.
1.Antenna- long and thin 6.Thorax MEDITERRANEAN FLOUR
2.Eyes- compound 7.Petiole- none MOTH
3.Head 8.Abdomen- covered by wings
4.Legs- 6 9.Color- pinkish to light brown 1 5
5.Wings- longer than body 10.Other- larvae live in tubes
Life Cycle
The female will lay hundreds of tiny eggs right in the contaminated
product. In a few days, they hatch into larvae, which immediately
spin silken tubes. They mature in 40 days into pupae, which enter a 4
cocoon for 1-2 weeks, then emerge as adult moths. The Mediterranean
Flour Moth can complete the entire life cycle in 5-9 weeks, with 3-4
generations per year. Photo Courtesy of UNIVAR
MEDITERRANEAN FLOUR MOTH Actual size 7/8”

The Mediterranean Flour Moth is another common pantry pest throughout the United States. They have
an elongated body, are about 7/8ths inch in size, and are light brown or pinkish in color. The larvae live
in silken tubes, which they leave behind in the contaminated food.

As with most pantry pests, they infest cereals, grain products, flour, seeds, and pet foods. The larvae
can actually chew through plastic bags to reach their next meal, and will ruin just about anything that
they contact. They prefer finely ground grains (such as the flour).

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