Community identification
Rice Weevil
Sitophilus oryzae
- Order & Family
- Coleoptera: Curculionidae
- Size
- 2.1 - 3.5 mm in length
Natural Habitat
Found worldwide in stored grain facilities, pantries, and food processing plants.
Diet & Feeding
Stored whole grains such as rice, wheat, corn, and barley.
Behavior Patterns
Adults can fly and are attracted to light. Females chew a hole into a grain kernel, lay a single egg, and seal it. The larvae develop inside the seed.
Risks & Benefits
Economic pest that destroys stored food products; poses no direct health risk to humans but causes contamination and food waste.