Storage pests of Sweet Sorghum:

Flour Beetle (Tribolium castaneum)

There are two types:

1. Rust red flour beetle

2. Confused flour beetle

Nature of damage:

Adult as well as larval stages of this insect feed on milled products but  can also attack broken grains if present in bulk storage. Flour beetles are secondary pests of all grains and primary pests of flour and other milled products. In grains, embryo or germ portion is preferred.

Commodities attacked:

Broken grains/ mechanically damaged grains, germ portion and milled products. Heavy infestation causes stinking odour in the flour, adversely affecting the dough quality. It is a significant pest of mill machinery.

Identification:

• Oblong, flat in shape, 3-4 mm in size and brown in color

• The distinction between rust beetle and confused beetle is that compound eyes are completely notched and antennae are not gradually thickened in the latter whereas in the former the notch is not complete and antennae have a clear three-segmented club

• Rust red beetle is more common, compared to the confused beetle.

Other information:

400-500 eggs are laid in stored grain at random. Ten eggs are laid per day for several months. Adultsare active in the rainy season. They feed on broken grains and grain products. They are known to live for one to one and half year. In the rainy season, the multiplication is very fast.

 

Fig. 1 : Flour Beetle and it's damage of grains