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Species Alphitobius diaperinus - Lesser Mealworm

Alphitobius? - Alphitobius diaperinus Alphitobius? - Alphitobius diaperinus ? flower beetle - Alphitobius diaperinus Beetle - Alphitobius diaperinus Waterford-J.2017.05 - Alphitobius diaperinus beetle - Alphitobius diaperinus beetle - Alphitobius diaperinus Alphitobius diaperinus pupa - Alphitobius diaperinus
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Coleoptera (Beetles)
Suborder Polyphaga
No Taxon (Series Cucujiformia)
Superfamily Tenebrionoidea
Family Tenebrionidae (Darkling Beetles)
Subfamily Tenebrioninae
Tribe Alphitobiini
Genus Alphitobius
Species diaperinus (Lesser Mealworm)
Synonyms and other taxonomic changes
Cryptops ulomoides Solier 1851
Explanation of Names
Alphitobius diaperinus (Panzer 1797)
Size
Adult: 5.8-6.3 mm(1)

Pupae measure approx. 7mm, about half the size of Tenebrio molitor (second image, top):


Prepupal larval comparison of Alphitobius diaperinus vs. Tenebrio molitor (left):
Range
of tropical (likely, Afrotropical) origin(2), nearly cosmopolitan(3); introduced from Europe before 1910(4)
Habitat
damp and moldy flour, meal, grain products(3); poultry houses (breeds in deep litter and in droppings)(2)
Food
damp and moldy flour, meal, grain products(3); larvae and adults also feed on dead animals(2)
Life Cycle
Larva (prepupal) on 12.21.2024:


Pupa (pupated 12.31.2024)


Adult (eclosed 01.19.2025):
Remarks
Vector of many poultry pathogens(2)
Internet References
Fact sheet (Dunford & Kaufman 2006)(5)
Works Cited
1.Tenebrionoidea of South Carolina
Janet C. Ciegler. 2014. Clemson University.
2.Beetles associated with stored products in Canada: An identification guide
Bousquet Y. 1990. Research Branch Agriculture Canada, Publication 1837.
3.Handbook of urban insects and arachnids: A handbook of urban entomology
Robinson W.H. 2005. Cambridge University Press.
4.The Tenebrionidae (Coleoptera) of the Maritime Provinces of Canada
Majka C.G., Bouchard P., Bousquet Y. 2008. Can. Entomol. 140: 690‒713.
5.University of Florida: Featured Creatures