But then, they have a habit of destroying food and other items. Therefore, adults and larvae don’t pose a health risk and are not dangerous at all.
Beetles are not dubbed parasites, which means that they don’t live in pets and humans. Do Biscuit Beetles Carry Disease?īiscuit beetles have not been found to be vectors of any known disease. These so-called bread beetles are not carnivores but rather herbivores, which means that they only eat plant matter. Despite having biting mouthparts, this beetle species don’t suck blood and is not interested in people and animals. Do Biscuit Beetles Bite?īiscuit beetles don’t bite or sting humans and pets. They cause severe damage to dry food and important belongings such as books, leather shoes, and paintings. However, larvae are known for being notorious pantry pests. In fact, you can safely touch them with your bare hands. Are Biscuit Beetles Harmful?īoth adults and larvae of biscuit beetles are completely harmless to people and pets. On the other hand, larvae are wingless, but they crawl fast from one place to another. In most cases, they hitch a ride with food from manufacturers to the groceries, then to houses. These female adults fly in search of a suitable food source where they can lay eggs. Do Biscuit Beetles Have Wings?Īdult biscuit beetles have wings, and they can fly. They also deposit eggs in leather, hair, horn, wool, wooden objects, and museum specimens. This includes food materials such as bread, cookies, chocolates, flour, dry mixes, grains, and spices. Where Do Biscuit Beetles Lay Their Eggs?īiscuit beetles lay their eggs in almost any dry organic matter, where the larvae dig when they are about to pupate. On average, development can happen if the temperature is 60 to 93☏ (-15 to 34☌).īut it can be at its optimal once the temperature reaches 85☏ (-30☌), with 60 to 90% relative humidity. The life cycle of a biscuit beetle is completed within 2-7 months, which again will depend on the food source and temperature. Once they emerge as adults, biscuit beetles will fly and can live between 16 and 20 days.
Their pupal stage can last for 12-18 days, which is the time when they are temporarily inactive inside a small cocoon in a food material. Females lay between 75 and 100 white eggs one by one within 6-20 days.Įggs hatch into larvae from 26 to 100 days, depending on the weather and availability of food.īiscuit beetle larvae pass through 4 to 6 larval stages, which usually last for 4 to 20 weeks. They pass through four life stages – egg, larva, pupa, and adult. Like other beetle species, biscuit beetles undergo complete metamorphosis. What Is the Life Cycle of a Biscuit Beetle? There is no official record stating where biscuit beetles come from, but their damage pattern has been observed during the restoration of oil paintings, which were dated back to the 17th century. Where Do Biscuit Beetles Come From?īiscuit beetles are cosmopolitan pests, which means they are widely from around the world, especially in warmer regions. Larvae also don’t eat wood, but they can bore holes through it to hide and pupate. In fact, the only material biscuit beetles don’t eat is metal or cast iron. They eat a very wide variety of food and non-food materials. What Do Biscuit Beetles Feed On?Ĭontrary to what some people think, biscuit beetles are not only pests of biscuits and pharmaceutical drugs. The dark marking on their head also ends in a straight line instead of having a convex boundary. Their main difference is that biscuit beetle larvae have shorter hairs. Both of them have a creamy white C-shaped body that is about 3/16 inch (4.76 mm.) long. However, the latter have a round, oval body, and their wing covers have no distinct grooves.īiscuit beetles also have loose, 3-segmented club antennae, while cigarette beetles have serrated (sawtoothlike) antennae.īiscuit beetle larvae also look like cigarette beetle larvae. Since their head is not seen from above, they appear to be humpbacks.īiscuit beetles look like cigarette beetles (Lasioderma serricorne), which are their close relatives. They are covered with fine silky dense hairs, while their wing covers have distinct grooves. Scientifically known as Stegobium paniceum, adult biscuit beetles are 2.25-3.5 mm (1/10-1/7 inch) long and have a light brown to the red-brown cylindrical body.
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