Drugstore Beetle (often mistaken for Cigarette Beetle)

Natural Habitat

Found indoors worldwide, typically in pantries, kitchens, or pharmacies. They infest stored dried plant products, including spices, grains, seeds, hair, leather, and prescription drugs.

Diet & Feeding

Stored products such as flour, cereal, dry pet food, spices (especially red pepper), old books, leather, wool, and prescription drugs.

Behavior Patterns

They are strong flyers and attracted to light. The larvae bore into food packaging, creating tunnels and damaging stored goods. They are known for their 'humpbacked' appearance when viewed from the side, hiding their head under the pronotum.

Risks & Benefits

Risks: Major pest of stored food products and pharmaceutical goods; they contaminate food and can chew through packaging like foil and plastic. Benefits: None in a domestic setting; they are primarily nuisance pests causing economic loss.

Identified on: 2/28/2026