The cigarette beetle feeds on a variety of stored products such as paprika, chili, and dried dog food. Both adults and larvae are capable of readily penetrating many types of packaging material These destructive pests can feed on pyrethrum powder strong enough to kill cockroaches. Adults are strong fliers and are attracted to light at night. Adult beetles flying around lights at night are often the first indication of their presence. The cigarette beetle is native to Egypt. In fact, a beetle was found in King Tutankhamen's tomb! In the 3,500 years since then the beetle has hardly changed.

Description:

The adult cigarette beetle is a small, red-brown to yellowish-brown beetle. When viewed from above it appears oval, and in profile humpbacked in shape (the head and pronotum are bent forward). It is 3 to 4 mm (1/10 to 1/8 inch) long. The antennae are serrate (the side edge of each antennal segment is pointed like a saw tooth). The wing coverings (elytra) are smooth without longitudinal grooves. They are strong fliers and attracted to light at night such as a lamp or TV set. It can be found throughout the year, but seems to be more common in the fall and winter months. The eggs are white, oval and too small to be easily seen with the naked eye. The larvae are white and grub-like; long hairs cover the bodies of the larvae and give them a fuzzy appearance. When full grown they are about 4 mm (1/8 inch) long. Larvae spin themselves into a cocoon prior to becoming pupae.

Life Cycle:

Both adults and larvae are capable of readily penetrating many types of packaging material. Adults lay their eggs on the food material the larvae are to feed on. Adults live two to four weeks. Females lay up to 100 eggs; the development time from egg to adult is six to eight weeks. There are three to six generations/year. The minimum development temperature is 65 degrees F.

Damage:

Cigarette beetles will infest a wide variety of food products:

Plant material - Aniseed, bamboo, beans, biscuits, cassava, chickpeas, cigars, cigarettes, cocoa beans, coffee beans, copra, coriander, cottonseed (before and after harvest), cottonseed meal, cumin, dates, dogfood, dried banana, dried cabbage, dried carrot, dried fruits, drugs, flax tow, flour, ginger, grain, herbs, herbarium specimens, insecticides containing pyrethrum, juniper seed, licorice root, paprika, peanuts, rhubarb, rice, seeds of various trees and plants, spices, and yeast.

Other food materials include dried insects, dried fish, fishmeal, and meatmeal. The cigarette beetle has also been recorded attacking leather, furniture stuffing, and bookbinders paste. It has also done incidental damage to cloth upholstery and paper books.

Control:

The cigarette beetle can be controlled without the use of pesticides. The first step in control of the cigarette beetle is to find the source of the infestation. This means inspecting all of the dried foods in the infested cabinets or drawers. Once the infested material is found, it should be destroyed. Clean all the cabinets and drawers with a vacuum cleaner (then throw the cleaner bag away). It is important that susceptible food material be stored so that adults and larvae may not have access to it. Glass jars and plastic containers with air tight covers effectively keep food insect-free. Infestations observed on food stored in either type of storage container are trapped and unable to spread to other food items. Susceptible food items need to be tightly contained or stored in the refrigerator or freezer, or be consumed within two to three weeks of purchase. Infestations of dried flowers may be "fumigated" by placing a small amount of moth crystals and the flowers in a plastic bag for a day or two.

Adapted from the Connecticut Agricultural Experiment Station and the Virginia Cooperative Extension, 1999.