Beetles Identification Guide

El Sayed, M.T. 1940. The morphology, anatomy and biology of Araecerus
fasciculatus De Geer (Coleoptera: Anthribidae). Bull. Soc. Fouad 1er
Entomol. 24:82—151.
Mphuru, A.N. 1974. Araecerus fasciculatus de Geer (Coleoptera: Anthribidae):
A review. Trop. Stored Prod. Inf. 26:7—l5.
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BOSTRICHIDAE branch-and-twig borers
This family is represented mainly in subtropical and tropical regions of the
world. Relatively few species occur in temperate regions, and only about 20 are
currently known in Canada. Larvae of bostrichids are wood borers.
Some bostrichids are serious pests of trees and felled timber. A few, including
Prostephanus truncatus (Horn), Rhyzopertha dominica (Fabricius), and
Dinoderus minutus (Fabricius), are associated with stored products. The last two
species mentioned are reported here, although they are not established in Canada.
These bostrichids differ from the other Coleoptera dealt with here by the presence
of rasp-like teeth on the pronotum.
Dinoderus minutus (Fabricius)
bamboo powderpost beetle
Diagnosis: The species differs from Rhyzopertha dominica, the other bostrichid
included here, by its stout body, by the elytral setae straight, and by a pair of
shallow, medial depressions near the base of the pronotum.
Sexual dimorphism: Sexes are externally similar.
Distribution: Widely distributed in the tropics; occasional in heated premises in
temperate regions. In Canada the species has been reported in Ontario, Manitoba,
Saskatchewan, and British Columbia.
Economic importance: The species is primarily a pest of bamboo and cane but
has been reported boring into other wood or infesting dried vegetable materials
such as stored grain, tobacco, and fruit. In Canada D. minutus is occasionally
found in warehouses and houses where bamboo products are stored.
Rhyzopertha dominica (Fabricius)
lesser grain borer
petit perceur des céréales
Diagnosis: The species is easily separated from D. minutus in being more elongate,
in having the elytral setae curved, and in having no depressions near the base
of the pronotum.