Grain Beetles

Two photos: first one shows various fragments of dead Saw-toothed Grain Beetles found in some flour, and the 2nd image is of a fully intact Merchant Grain Beetle.Grain beetles are small, brown beetles, about an eighth of an inch long (or 2.5 mm), with flat, narrow bodies that make it easy for them to enter cracks in storage areas or packaged materials.  They attack such foods as cereals, breakfast foods, biscuit mixes, sugar, macaroni, flour, rice, dried meats, and dried fruits.  They are primarily found where these dry foodstuffs are stored.  Their presence in food makes it undesirable for human consumption.   The beetles are unable to break or eat through hard shelled seeds such as corn, but they may be found in grain containing broken kernels or in processed cereal products.

There are two kinds of grain beetles we commonly see in Maine: the Sawtoothed grain beetle and the closely related Merchant grain beetle.  Both of these are found throughout the world.  No diseases are associated with either of these beetles.

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