THE TOBACCO BEETLE. 5 



namely, those living in stored products and timber. Among these, 

 besides the tobacco beetle {Lasioderma. serricorne), may be men- 

 tioned the larger tobacco beetle (Catorama tabaci) and the drug- 

 store beetle {Sitodrepa panicea). The genus Lasioderma of Stephens 

 contains only five known species. The tobacco beetle was first de- 

 scribed from America in 1792 by Fabricius (l) 1 under the name 

 Ptinus serricoimis. 



SYNONYMY. 



The following sjmonymy is given by Gemminger and Harold (16) : 



Lasioderma serricome Fabricius, Ent. Syst. (1792), v. 1, p. 241; Mulsant, Ann. 



Soc. Linn. Lyon (1864), v. 12, p. 1, pi. 1, fig. 10; Le Conte, Proc. Acad. Nat. 



Sci. Phila. (1865), p. 236. 

 Lasioderma flavescens Dahlbom, Dej. Cat. 3 ed. (1837), p. 129. 

 Lasioderma testaceum Duftschmidt, Fauna Austr. (1859), Deutchl. Fauna In- 



secten (1837), v. 11, p. 89, pi. 237, fig. P. 



FOOD SUBSTANCES OF THE TOBACCO BEETLE. 



The tobacco beetle feeds upon a variety of dried vegetable sub- 

 stances as well as upon a few dried animal substances. Early records 

 describe the insect as feeding upon or living in " dried plants." Its 

 more common food is cured or manufactured tobacco. In drug and 

 grocery stores it is often found infesting such substances as dried 

 roots of various kinds, pressed yeast cakes, and seeds. The writer 

 on one occasion found a collection of dried botanical specimens in a 

 State museum badly injured by the pest. In the course of investiga- 

 tions of the insect it has been reared from and found infesting or 

 feeding upon the following substances: Cured leaf tobacco, manu- 

 factured tobacco of various kinds, such as smoking and chewing 

 tobacco, snuff, cigarettes, and cigars ; tobacco seed, dried figs, cayenne 

 pepper, ginger, dried dates, powdered orris root, curry powder, starch, 

 pressed yeast cakes, and dried plants of different kinds in botanical 

 collections. When large numbers of the beetles were required at 

 times for experimental work it was found that they could be bred 

 most conveniently in dried yeast cake (fig. 5). 



In addition to the food substances already mentioned, the insect 

 has been reported in entomological literature as injuring or infesting 

 opium, red pepper, rice, paprika, stock foods, turmeric, spices, saffron, 

 licorice, bran, belladonna, and pyrethrum powder. Dr. J. B. Smith 

 (59) also mentions injury to cane and rattan work of all kinds, books, 

 and gun wads. Jones (77) reported the insect breeding in raisins 

 in the Philippines. Van Dine (55) states that in the Hawaiian 

 Islands the tobacco beetle is the most common and destructive pest 



1 Numbers in parenthesis refer to " Bibliography," p. 69. 



