Sawtoothed Grain Beetle Category: OLI Minimum Life Cycle: 20 to 25 days. Distribution: Cosmopolitan; important pest of many stored products, secondary pest of whole grain. Biology: Eggs - Up to 400 per female laid loosely in the grain. Larvae - Develop rapidly, particularly at high moisture contents (greater than 14 percent). Adults - Can be long lived, up to three years. Sawtoothed Grain Beetle (Oryzaephilus surinamensis). The sawtoothed grain beetle is one of most common grain and stored-product insect pests. It is named after the characteristic sawtooth projections on each side of the adult thorax. It feeds on a wide range of foods—especially milled cereals, dried fruits, candies, and nuts. The insect is active and often crawls rapidly in search of food. The sawtoothed grain beetle seems to prefer areas of high temperature and humidity (Figure 13). (Slide and top caption courtesy of ICI Americas, Inc.)

Figure 13. Sawtoothed grain beetle.

Index for the Interpretive Line Slides for Insects Chapter 13, Stored Product Management E-912, Stored Product Management Main Home Page P*E*A*R*L (OCES Online Publications) Oklahoma Cooperative Extension Service Division of Agricultural Sciences and Natural Resources Oklahoma State University