Flour beetle
Flour beetles are members of several darkling beetle genera including Tribolium and Tenebrio. They are pests of cereal silos and are widely used as laboratory animals, as they are easy to keep. The flour beetles consume wheat and other grains, are adapted to survive in very dry environments, and can withstand even higher amounts of radiation than cockroaches. They are a major pest in the agricultural industry and are highly resistant to insecticides.
| Flour beetles | |
|---|---|
| Tribolium castaneum | |
| Scientific classification | |
| Domain: | Eukaryota |
| Kingdom: | Animalia |
| Phylum: | Arthropoda |
| Class: | Insecta |
| Order: | Coleoptera |
| Infraorder: | Cucujiformia |
| Superfamily: | Tenebrionoidea |
| Family: | Tenebrionidae |
| Genera | |
|
Aphanotus | |
The larvae of T. molitor, when full-grown, are known as mealworms; small specimens and the larvae of the other species are called mini mealworms.
Flour beetles are part of the life cycle of the tapeworm Hymenolepis nana, which causes hymenolepiasis in humans. Female reproduction is distributed over their adult life-span which lasts about a year. Flour beetles also display pre-mating discrimination among potential mates. Female flour beetles, specifically of T. castaneum, can mate with different males and may choose more attractive males over the course of their adult life-span.