Red Flour Beetle

Natural Habitat

These beetles are commonly found in pantries, kitchens, and food storage facilities. They prefer warm, dark places and are often found within the food products they infest.

Diet & Feeding

Red flour beetles primarily feed on milled grain products such as flour, cereal, pasta, and crackers. They can also infest nuts, dried fruit, spices, chocolate, and other stored dry goods.

Behavior Patterns

Flour beetles are known for infesting stored dry food products, especially grains and flour. They are quite active and can move quickly within infested materials. Their presence often indicates poor storage conditions or old food products. Both adults and larvae cause damage by feeding and contaminating food with their dead bodies, fecal pellets, and secretions, which can impart a bad odor and taste to the infested food.

Risks & Benefits

Risks: Red flour beetles are significant pantry pests, causing economic losses by damaging and contaminating stored food products. Their presence can trigger allergies in sensitive individuals. Benefits: They do not provide direct benefits to humans or the ecosystem in a positive way; rather, they are considered nuisance and destructive pests in household and commercial settings.

Identified on: 8/14/2025