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NEW YORK STATE MUSEUM 



European insect, a serious enemy of stored grains, has been 

 established in this country for several years and is likely to appear 

 in seed warehouses and similar places without warning. Measures 

 of value- against other cereal pests are very effective in controlling 

 this insect. 



The saw-toothed grain beetle 81 is one of the smallest and the 

 most common of the grain beetles. It is only about one-tenth of an 

 inch long, reddish brown, flattened and easily recognized by the 

 peculiar saw-toothed edge along the sides of the thorax. This 



Fig. 30 Saw-toothed grain beetle: o, beetle, from above; b, pupa, from below; c, grub 

 or larva; all enlarged. (After Chittenden, U. S. Dep't Agr. Div. Ent. Bui. 4- 

 n. s. 1896) 



insect displays a marked preference for all cereal preparations 

 though it also occurs in preserved fruits, nuts and seeds, and has 

 been recorded as injuring yeast cakes, mace, snuff, and even red 

 pepper. The pests breed for extended periods and continuously in 

 packages of cereals stored in warm houses. A number of genera- 

 tions annually are possible, since the life cycle can be completed 

 under favorable conditions in 24 days. The writer had his 

 attention called several years ago to a case where this beetle multi- 

 plied by the millions in a brewery and spread therefrom to adjacent 

 houses and caused a great deal of annoyance by getting into every- 

 thing, not excepting clothing that was worn and bedding in use. 



The confused flour beetle 82 is a stout, rust-red beetle about one- 

 sixth of an inch long and a not infrequent associate of the saw- 

 toothed grain beetle. It likewise has a marked preference for 

 cereal preparations, though it occurs in such diverse products as 



81 S i 1 v a n u s surinamensis Linn. 

 82 Tribolium confusum Duv. 



