Drugstore Beetle

Natural Habitat

Found indoors worldwide, particularly in pantries, kitchens, and warehouses where food or organic materials are stored.

Diet & Feeding

A generalist feeder that consumes a wide variety of dried plant products including spices (especially paprika and chili powder), flour, bread, cookies, cereals, and even non-food items like leather, books, and hair.

Behavior Patterns

Adults are capable of flight and are attracted to light. Females can lay up to 75 eggs on food sources. The larvae burrow into the food material, creating tunnels as they feed and eventually pupate within the medium.

Risks & Benefits

Primarily a household and commercial pest that causes significant damage to stored goods and museum specimens. They do not bite or sting humans and do not carry diseases, but infested food must be discarded due to contamination from larvae, feces, and silk.

Identified on: 3/7/2026