Bean Weevil or Dried Bean Beetle

Category: OLI
Minimum Life Cycle: Three to four months. 
Distribution: Worldwide; on pulses both in store and in the field before harvest.
Biology:
Eggs - Laid in pods before harvest or among stored seeds.
Larvae - Enter and feed within one seed.
Pupae - Form in seed which then shows characteristic "window."
Adults -Non feeding; short lived.

beetle
Figure 23. Bean weevil (dried bean beetle).

Bean Weevil or Dried Bean Beetle (Acanthoscelides obtectus). Bean weevils, unlike pea weevils, develop on the mature beans in the field and are able to develop in storages. They occur worldwide, but are most common in subtropical areas. They can develop on a range of seeds, from cowpea, broad bean, kidney bean, chick pea, and wild pea. The insect produces a sweet 'fruity' pheromone that gives cultures of newly emerged adults a pleasant smell (Figure 23).

(Slide and top caption courtesy of ICI Americas, Inc.)