Identification & Advisory Service

Classification
Biscuit beetle
Class Insecta Stegobium paniceum
Order Coleoptera
Family Anobiidae Other names: Drugstore beetle, Bread beetle

The Bread beetle, Stegobium paniceum, also known as the Biscuit beetle (or the Drugstore beetle in the U.S.A.) is one
of the commonest pest insects of stored food. It is able to feed on a variety of plant and animal products including bread
and flour and even hot spices and drugs. However, this beetle is not harmful to health and despite its close
resemblance to the Common furniture beetle or Woodworm beetle (in the adult stage), it does not feed on wood.

Identification
The adult beetles are usually noticed first. They are small, between 2 and 4 mm in length, reddish-brown and, under
magnification, reveal fine grooves running lengthways along the wing cases. Furniture beetles (or Woodworms) are
similar but are somewhat larger and darker and their antennae are shorter than the legs (in Bread beetles the lengths
are similar). There are three flattened segments at the tip of antennae. The head is partially hidden by the pronotum (the
plate that covers the upper part of the thorax). Biscuit beetles have large dark eyes.

Dorsal view Lateral view Ventral view

Photo credits: Siga / Wikimedia Commons. Line drawings © The Natural History Museum.

Possible confusion

Furniture beetle (woodworm) Biscuit (L) and Furniture beetle (R)

Anobium punctatum
Somewhat larger and darker brown, antennae shorter than legs.
Pronotum with obvious ‘hump’ like a monk’s cowl.
Larvae bore into wood, where they feed for 3-5 years.

Photo credits: Siga / Wikimedia Commons.

Cigarette beetle (Tobacco beetle)

Lasioderma serricorne
Antennae with many serrations, while Biscuit beetle has three large ones at the
tip. Has much weaker punctures on the surface of the wing covers (elytra). Eyes
easier to see from above. Different shape of pronotum.

Photo credits: Kamran Iftikhar / Wikimedia Commons.

Distribution and habitat
The Biscuit beetle occurs in houses, stores, warehouses and kitchens throughout central and northern Europe, including
the UK, sometimes in very large numbers. It is known as a cosmopolitan species.

Life cycle
In common with other beetles, this species passes through four life-stages: egg, larva, pupa and adult (pictured below).
The speed of development through the life cycle depends on temperature, moisture, quality and abundance of food. In
cool temperatures (below 15ºC) there is only one generation per year, in moderate temperatures two, while at higher
temperatures (above 23ºC) there may be five or more.

Eggs are laid by mated females on or near the foodstuff. When the larva emerges
from the egg, it is less than 1mm in length. In its search for food, it may bite into
packaged or hidden food sources. The larva increases in size and, at about 5mm in
length, it enters the pupal stage. Before emergence as an adult beetle, a minimum of
nine days is spent as the pupa in an oval shaped cell moulded by the larva using the
food material.

Damage and control

Because the Bread beetle larva thrives in dark, warm, undisturbed places, it is essential to search thoroughly for the
food-source of the larva if adults are found wandering around. Rarely-used dried-foods such as flour or spices are often
the source of an infestation. Removing disused and old foodstuff should eliminate an infestation.
Adult beetles may be seen around fire-places and air vents with no apparent food-source available. These are likely to
have come from nests of wasps or birds in the attic. Beware also of bread in fire-places that has been dropped down
the chimney by birds. With suitable hygiene, and by preventing access into the attic by nest-builders, the successful
eradication of this pest should be assured.

To find out more:

Info sheet on Cornell University website:
http://idl.entomology.cornell.edu/files/2013/11/Cigarette-and-Drugstore-Beetles-2014-ocf7nv.pdf
Another info page on University of Florida Institute of Food and Agricultural Sciences:
http://entomology.ifas.ufl.edu/creatures/urban/stored/drugstore_beetle.htm

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