Drugstore Beetle

Natural Habitat

Found worldwide in pantries, kitchens, pharmacies, and museums where stored products are kept.

Diet & Feeding

A generalist feeder that consumes dried herbarium specimens, spices, flour, bread, chocolate, and even prescription drugs or leather.

Behavior Patterns

Adults are capable of flight and are attracted to light. They undergo complete metamorphosis; larvae do the most damage by tunneling through food sources and creating cocoons.

Risks & Benefits

They are a common household pest that contaminates food sources with frass and cocoons. While not medically harmful to humans, they cause economic damage to stored goods and museum collections.

Identified on: 5/17/2026