Beetles Identification Guide

mills, more or less frequently in Quebec and Ontario and occasionally in the
Prairie Provinces and British Columbia. The species was described as a serious
pest of flour mills in Canada (MacNay 1950; Arrand and Neilson 1958), probably
as a result of confusion with C. turcicus. As for C. ferrugineus, it feeds mainly
on damaged grain, preferably wheat.
Cryptolestes turcicus (Grouvelle)
flour mill beetle
Diagnosis: The species is distinct from the two other Cryptolestes dealt with here
in having 3 rows of setae, instead of 4, in the second elytral interval.
Sexual dimorphism: Males have longer antennae, extended to about four-fifths
of the length of the body (see Fig. 190), and 4-segmented hind tarsi. Females
have the antennae extended to only about half the length of the body (see Fig.
191) and 5-segmented hind tarsi.
Distribution: Found in Europe, North Africa, and North America and reported
in Japan, South Africa, and some South American countries. The species has
been found from Quebec west to British Columbia.
Economic importance: This insect is a notorious pest of flour and feed mills in
temperate regions. It is also found occasionally in grain elevators and warehouses
in Canada (Smith 1962, 1965). As shown by Chang and Loschiavo (1971), the
development of this species is favored by the presence of fungi in its diet. Aitken
(1975) recorded the species in Canadian cargo ships carrying wheat.
Oryzaephilus mercator (Fauvel)
merchant grain beetle
cucujide des grains oléagineux
Diagnosis: The two species of Oryzaephilus included here are easily separated from
the other Coleoptera species dealt with in this guide by their general habitus (Fig.
192), particularly the 6-toothed lateral margin of the pronotum. Oryzaephilus
mercator differs from O. surinamensis mainly in having the temple proportionally
shorter, its length being less than half the vertical diameter of the eye.
Sexual dimorphism: Males have the posterior margin of the hind trochanter and
the upper margin of the hind femur medially with a spine-like projection; females
lack such projection on the hind trochanter and femur (Fig. 245).
Distribution: Cosmopolitan. The species occurs in heated food-storing premises
across Canada.
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