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Species Cryptolestes pusillus - Flat Grain Beetle

Cryptolestes pusillus
Classification
Kingdom Animalia (Animals)
Phylum Arthropoda (Arthropods)
Subphylum Hexapoda (Hexapods)
Class Insecta (Insects)
Order Coleoptera (Beetles)
Suborder Polyphaga
No Taxon (Series Cucujiformia)
Superfamily Cucujoidea
No Taxon (Cucujid series)
Family Laemophloeidae (Lined Flat Bark Beetles)
Genus Cryptolestes
Species pusillus (Flat Grain Beetle)
Explanation of Names
Cryptolestes pusillus (Schönherr 1817)
Size
1.4–1.9 mm(1)
Range
cosmopolitan, of tropical/subtropical origin(2)(1)
Habitat
synanthropic(2)
Food
stored grain; larvae will also feed on dead insects(1)
Life Cycle
usually 5–9 weeks from egg to adult; adult female lives about 1 yr(1)
Remarks
one of the most common pests of stored grain around the world; does not attack sound or uninjured kernels and often appears after the attack by other grain pests (frequently found in large numbers with the rice weevil)(1)
Works Cited
1.Handbook of urban insects and arachnids: A handbook of urban entomology
Robinson W.H. 2005. Cambridge University Press.
2.Alien terrestrial arthropods of Europe
Roques A., Kenis M., Lees D., Lopez-Vaamonde C., Rabitsch W., Rasplus J.-Y., Roy D., eds. 2010. BioRisk 4 Special Issue; 2 vols., 1028 pp.