Red flour beetle - Red flour beetle

It is an insect belonging to the family Tenebrionidae in the order Coleoptera of the class Insecta. It is a pest found all over the world, feeding on stored grains, especially flour. It is 3-4 mm long. It is a slender, flat reddish brown beetle with a dull luster. The sides of its body are parallel, and there are thin ridges on both sides of the epiphyte. It is common on flour, and the larvae are pale yellow, slender, cylindrical, and have a pair of protuberances at the end of the tail. It can be distinguished from the closely related Tribolium confusum by the fact that the three distal segments of its antennae are significantly wider than the previous ones.

[Takehiko Nakane]

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

昆虫綱甲虫目ゴミムシダマシ科に属する昆虫。世界中に分布し、貯蔵穀類、とくに穀粉を食害する害虫。体長3～4ミリメートル。細長く平たい赤褐色の甲虫。光沢は鈍い。体側は平行し、上ばねの両側には細い隆起線がある。小麦粉に多く、幼虫は淡黄色で細長い円筒形、尾端に1対の突起がある。近縁のヒラタコクヌストモドキT. confusumとは、触角の先端3節が前の節より明らかに幅広いので区別できる。

［中根猛彦］

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