Flour beetles are members of the
darkling beetle
Darkling beetle is the common name for members of the beetle family Tenebrionidae. The number of species in the Tenebrionidae is estimated at more than 20,000 and the family is cosmopolitan in distribution.
Taxonomy
''Tenebrio'' is the Latin gen ...
genera
Genus ( plural genera ) is a taxonomic rank used in the biological classification of living and fossil organisms as well as viruses. In the hierarchy of biological classification, genus comes above species and below family. In binomial nomenclat ...
''
Tribolium'' or ''
Tenebrio''. They are pests of
cereal silos and are widely used as
laboratory animal
Animal testing, also known as animal experimentation, animal research, and ''in vivo'' testing, is the use of non-human animals in experiments that seek to control the variables that affect the behavior or biological system under study. This ...
s, as they are easy to keep. The flour beetles consume wheat and other grains, are adapted to survive in very dry environments, and can withstand even higher amounts of radiation than cockroaches. They are a major pest in the agricultural industry and are highly resistant to
insecticide
Insecticides are substances used to kill insects. They include ovicides and larvicides used against insect eggs and larvae, respectively. Insecticides are used in agriculture, medicine, industry and by consumers. Insecticides are claimed to b ...
s.
The
larva
A larva (; plural larvae ) is a distinct juvenile form many animals undergo before metamorphosis into adults. Animals with indirect development such as insects, amphibians, or cnidarians typically have a larval phase of their life cycle.
The ...
e of ''T. molitor'', when full-grown, are known as
mealworm
Mealworms are the larval form of the yellow mealworm beetle, ''Tenebrio molitor'', a species of darkling beetle. Like all holometabolic insects, they go through four life stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Larvae typically measure about or ...
s; small specimens and the larvae of the other species are called mini mealworms.
Flour beetles are part of the life cycle of the tapeworm ''
Hymenolepis nana
Dwarf tapeworm (''Hymenolepis nana'', also known as ''Rodentolepis nana'', ''Vampirolepis nana'', ''Hymenolepis fraterna'', and ''Taenia nana'') is a cosmopolitan species though most common in temperate zones, and is one of the most common ce ...
'', which causes
hymenolepiasis
Hymenolepiasis is infestation by one of two species of tapeworm: '' Hymenolepis nana'' or '' H. diminuta''. Alternative names are dwarf tapeworm infection and rat tapeworm infection. The disease is a type of helminthiasis which is classified as a ...
in humans. Female reproduction is distributed over their adult life-span which lasts about a year. Flour beetles also display pre-mating discrimination among potential mates. Female flour beetles, specifically of ''T. castaneum'', can mate with different males and may choose more attractive males over the course of their adult life-span.
Selected species
* ''
Aphanotus brevicornis'' – North American flour beetle
* ''
Tribolium castaneum
The red flour beetle (''Tribolium castaneum'') is a species of beetle in the family Tenebrionidae, the darkling beetles. It is a worldwide pest of stored products, particularly food grains, and a model organism for ethological and food safety ...
'' – red flour beetle
* ''
Tribolium confusum'' – confused flour beetle
* ''
Tribolium destructor'' – destructive flour beetle
* ''
Tenebrio molitor
Mealworms are the larval form of the yellow mealworm beetle, ''Tenebrio molitor'', a species of darkling beetle. Like all holometabolic insects, they go through four life stages: egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Larvae typically measure about or ...
'' – yellow mealworm beetle
* ''
Tenebrio obscurus'' – dark mealworm beetle
Research
In 2008, the ''Tribolium castaneum''
genome
In the fields of molecular biology and genetics, a genome is all the genetic information of an organism. It consists of nucleotide sequences of DNA (or RNA in RNA viruses). The nuclear genome includes protein-coding genes and non-coding ge ...
was sequenced by the ''Tribolium'' Genome Sequencing Consortium.
See also
*
Grain beetle
References
External links
Tenebrionidae
Storage pests
Insect common names
{{Tenebrionidae-stub