Red Flour Beetle

Natural Habitat

Commonly found in stored food products, pantries, mills, and food processing facilities. They prefer a warm, humid environment.

Diet & Feeding

Feeds on a wide variety of stored products, including flour, cereal products, pasta, biscuits, dried fruits, nuts, chocolates, and spices. They cannot feed on whole, undamaged grains.

Behavior Patterns

Flour beetles are highly mobile and can quickly infest food sources. The larvae are cylindrical and yellow-brown. Adults are long-lived, sometimes surviving for over a year. They are attracted to heat and are often found in machinery where grain is processed, like mills. Females lay eggs directly in food materials.

Risks & Benefits

Potential Risks: Significant pest of stored food products, causing economic losses by contaminating food with their bodies, feces, and secretions. Can impart a disagreeable odor and taste to infested products. They do not bite humans or transmit diseases. Potential Benefits: No direct benefits for humans, but as detritivores, they play a minor role in breaking down organic matter in their natural habitat.

Identified on: 7/5/2025