
Community identification
Red flour beetle (likely)
Tribolium castaneum
- Order & Family
- Coleoptera; Tenebrionidae
- Size
- Adults are about 2.5–4 mm long.
Natural Habitat
Stored-food areas, pantries, grain mills, and warehouses, especially where flour or cereal products accumulate.
Diet & Feeding
Adults and larvae feed on flour, grains, cereals, nuts, spices, and other dry stored foods; they do not bite people.
Behavior Patterns
Adults are reddish-brown, flattened beetles that hide in food cracks and reproduce rapidly under warm conditions. The larval stage develops within stored products.
Risks & Benefits
They contaminate and spoil pantry foods but pose no significant health threat beyond possible food contamination. The blurry image makes identification tentative; the insect could also be another small pantry beetle.