Domain: Eukaryota

Kingdom: Animalia

Phylum: Arthropoda

Class: Insecta

Order: Coleoptera

Family: Tenebrionidae

Genus: Alphitobius

Species: A. laevigatus

Binomial Name: Alphitobius laevigatus (Fabricius, 1781)

Cosmopolitan, mainly of tropical origin. Europe and North America; In Canada, it is only recorded from southern Ontario.

Host Range
Infests flour, bread, and maize in processing plants, thrives in damp and moldy conditions; In Europe, occurs in the wild on fungi in logs. It is a scavenger, thriving in damp and moldy conditions. It has been recorded outside of Canada, in animal houses, feeding on feces and dead animals. Unlike the lesser mealworm, it has not been recorded from poultry houses in Canada. Has not been documented in stored products in Canada.

Eggs: [NO INFORMATION AVAILABLE]

Larva: The larvae reach a length of up to 15 millimeters. The larvae are often marketed under the trade name buffalo worms, a name that is also used for the larvae of Alphitobius diaperinus (Lesser mealworms) which can lead to confusion [1]. Larvae are yellow brown in color and cylindrical in shape.

Adult: Adult black fungus beetles are 5.5–7.0 mm long and are dark reddish brown to black in color. Their eyes are only one facet wide at their narrowest point. The eye is more deeply incised (width about 1 facet laterally) and the pronotum more convex, its lateral margins more rounded and the basal bead complete.

The lesser mealworm, Alphitobius diaperinus, is another type of darkling beetle. It is also known as the litter beetle. It is a common pest that is found on the floor of poultry houses. It can spread avian diseases and human pathogens like Salmonella. The species can be detected using the PCR method [1]. In difference to A. diaperinus, A. laevigatus is not used or discussed as food for human consumption [1]. Adults can be distinguished from lesser mealworms based on the appearance of lateral view of the eye. The black fungus beetle’s eye is only one facet wide at its narrowest point.

It is a fungal feeder and scavenger on a wide variety of stored products.

1. Adults are relatively long lived (400 days) and can fly.

2. Adults lay eggs in clumps amongst the food sources.

3. Larvae move actively amongst the food sources.

Black fungus beetle does not feed directly on commodities. Presence of beetles indicates poor sanitation.

The presence of A. diaperinus and A. laevigatus is normally first indicated by the sighting of brown-black beetles, at least 5 mm long, moving over the stored food or across the floor of stores. No specific signs of infestation are associated with this species.

Plants/Seeds/external feeding

A. laevigatus is bred in large quantities for the use as feed for captive birds, reptiles, or amphibians. A. laevigatus has proven to be a highly potential feeder species for Frogs during a few weeks after Metamorphosis. Thus, they are being used as food in Frog farming [4].

Dry out the infested area Discard infested food products Dry pallets or switch to plastic pallets Use heat treatments or fumigations for severe infestations

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[NO INFORMATION AVAILABLE]

Due to the variable regulations around (de-)registration of pesticides, we are for the moment not including any specific chemical control recommendations. For further information, we recommend you visit the following resources:

1. EU pesticides database (http://ec.europa.eu/food/plant/pesticides/eu-pesticides-database/)

2. PAN pesticide database (www.pesticideinfo.org)

3. Your national pesticide guide

No information found

No information found

[NO INFORMATION AVAILABLE]

1. Jump up to:a b c Aline Marien, Hamza Sedefoglu, Frédéric Debode et al. (9 March 2022): Detection of Alphitobius diaperinus by Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction With a Single-Copy Gene Target. In: Frontiers in Veterinary Science. 2022; 9: 718806. doi:10.3389/fvets.2022.718806.

2. https://www.grainscanada.gc.ca/en/grain-quality/manage/identify-an-insect/secondary-insect-pests/black-fungus-beetle.html

3. Lobl, I.; Smetana, A., eds. (2013). Catalogue of Palaearctic Coleoptera, Volume 5: Tenebrionoidea. Apollo Books. ISBN 978-90-04-26090-0.

4. Craioveanu, O., Craioveanu, C., Bențea, M.I., Coroian, C.O., and Mireșan, V. (2021). Assessing the performance of Alphitobius piceus (Oliver, 1792) as novel feeder insect species for small sized postmetamorphic frogs. Studia Universitatis Babeş-Bolyai Biologia, 66, 2, (p. 5-20). doi:10.24193/subbbiol.2021.2.01