Home » Guide » Arthropods (Arthropoda) » Hexapods (Hexapoda) » Insects (Insecta) » Beetles (Coleoptera) » Polyphaga » Bostrichoidea » Death-watch and Spider Beetles (Ptinidae) » Death-watch Beetles (Anobiinae) » Stegobiini » Stegobium » Drugstore Beetle (Stegobium paniceum)

Species Stegobium paniceum - Drugstore Beetle

Another home invasion - Stegobium paniceum

Mexican chile beetles - Stegobium paniceum

Classification

Kingdom Animalia (Animals)

Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)

Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)

Class Insecta (Insects)

Order Coleoptera (Beetles)

Suborder Polyphaga

Superfamily Bostrichoidea

Family Ptinidae (Death-watch and Spider Beetles)

Subfamily Anobiinae (Death-watch Beetles)

Tribe Stegobiini

Genus Stegobium

Species paniceum (Drugstore Beetle)

Other Common Names

Biscuit Beetle (in Europe)

Synonyms and other taxonomic changes

Sitodrepa panicea

Explanation of Names

Stegobium paniceum (Linnaeus 1758)

paniceum = 'of bread'

Size

adult 2.2-3.5 mm(1)

Identification

antennae have a loose 3-segmented club, and elytral striae marked by distinct punctures(2)

Range

e. NA and CA to AK - Map (3), cosmopolitan(2), adventive in the New World(4) (probably of so. African origin); more abundant in warm regions or in heated buildings in temperate climates

Habitat

homes and other buildings containing processed and packaged food products or museum/herbarium specimens

Season

year-round indoors

Food

larvae feed on a very wide variety of materials of vegetable and animal origin (incl. drugs poisonous to humans, spices, tobacco, leather, wood, textiles...), may attack dried plant collections, old books, and paper; adults do not feed(2)

Life Cycle

larvae tunnel into substrate (4-6 instars in 4-20 weeks); pupation period 12-18 days; adult female lives 13-65 days; life cycle 2-7 months[Cite:185010]; 3-4 generations per year(1)

Remarks

attacked by predators such as Tenebroides (Trogossitidae), Thaneroclerus (Cleridae), several carabids, and a number of parasitoid wasps (Pteromalidae, Eurytomidae, Bethylidae); eggs may be eaten by predatory mites[Cite:185010]

See Also

Cigarette Beetle (Lasioderma serricorne) has serrated antennae and smooth elytra, and its larvae have longer hairs

Internet References

Featured Creatures - Cabrera (2007)

Works Cited

1.	Handbook of urban insects and arachnids: A handbook of urban entomology Robinson W.H. 2005. Cambridge University Press.

2.	Beetles associated with stored products in Canada: An identification guide Bousquet Y. 1990. Research Branch Agriculture Canada, Publication 1837.

3.	Global Biodiversity Information Facility (GBIF)

4.	Bousquet Y., ed. (1991) Checklist of the beetles of Canada and Alaska

Contributed by Robin McLeod on 3 January, 2006 - 1:34am
Additional contributions by Mike Quinn, Boris Bueche, v belov, Harsi S. Parker
Last updated 17 November, 2023 - 4:37pm

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