Species Tenebroides mauritanicus - Cadelle

Tenebroides mauritanicus (Linnaeus 1758)

6-10 mm(1)

Det. Michael C. Thomas, 2009

Cosmopolitan (spread with commerce), adventive in e.NA - Map (2)(1)(3), of Palaearctic origin

common pest in granaries, mills, warehouses, grain elevators, and homes where it infests flour, meal, grain, nuts, seeds, spices, dried fruits, vegetables, and biscuits; occasionally found in the wild on dead wood(1)(2)(4) (locally very common under bark in parts of so. Europe/Caucasus. =v=)

Larvae and adults feed on nuts, seeds, dried fruits, and vegetables, as well as grains and their milled products. Adults also feed on other insects, including larvae of the cheese skipper, Tribolium spp., and larvae and adults of their own species(2)

2 generations per year in temperate regions, 3 in tropical climates; one of the longest-lived of the insects that attack stored grain(1)

Adults and larvae both bore into wood(5)