Domain:                Eukaryota
Kingdom:             Animalia
Phylum:                Arthropoda
Class:                    Insecta
Order:                    Coleoptera
Family:                  Tenebrionidae
Genus:                   Letheticus
Species:                L. oryzae
Binomial Name:   Letheticus oryzae (Waterhouse, 1880)

Worldwide; it is not known to be widely established in Canada but has been reported from ports in New Brunswick and Quebec and occurs infrequently on the Prairies [1]. It is commonly seen in tropical and sub-tropical regions of the world. It has been reported in the temperate climatic zones in Australia, the beetle tends to inhabit heated premises.

Host Range
Pasta, dried cassava, oatmeal, provender, tea, sorghum, maize, cereal grains, wheat [1]. Moreover, Oryza sativa (rice) [4], Brassica napus var. napus (rape) [5], Poaceae (grasses) [6], and stored products [7].

Egg: White, smooth, cylindrical eggs at random in grain and seams of the bags

Larva: Larvae are pale yellow to cream in color with a dark head capsule and dark urogomphi [1].

Broadhorned flour beetle (Gnatocerus cornutus),
Smalleyed flour beetles (Palorus ratzeburgii), and Tribolium species, especially T. casteneum [1]. Adults are yellowish to brownish beetles that are slender and flattened, reaching a length of 3 mm. Adults have a comparatively large head with short antennae with a five segmented club [1]. Light brown with elongated body, resembles Tribolium sp. Antennae shorter than head, 11 segmented with 5 clubbed apical segments.

Broadhorned flour beetle (Gnatocerus cornutus),
Smalleyed flour beetles (Palorus ratzeburgii), and Tribolium species, especially T. casteneum [1].

Both adult and grub feed on a milled product and can exist as a secondary infestation in stored grains. It attacks cereals, flour, packaged food, rice and rice products.

The beetle is light brown in colour with longated body, measuring 2 -3 mm in length and resembles Tribolium castaneum. It lays 400 white eggs singly on grain and seams of the bags. The incubation period is 7 – 12 days. The grub is small, white active which feeds voraciously. The larval period is 15-80 days. It pupates for 5-10 days. Life cycle is completed in 25 days at 35 0 and 70% relative humidity.

Adults resemble Tribolium. Head is longer in proportion to the body than that of Tribolium, paler and brighter than Tribolium.

In a nutshell:
This beetle requires a very high minimum temperature for development to occur (25 degrees celcius).
Females lay eggs at random throughout the food source, the female lays 400 white eggs on grains [2].
Larvae actively move through the food.

Damage is not distinctive, both adults and larvae feed on the commodity. It can be destructive in mills, granaries and holds of ships. L. oryzae infests stored cereal grains, cereal products and oilseeds, but it is generally considered a minor pest. The main problem is loss of product quality owing to contamination with bodies and frass.

The first indication of attack is the presence of small light-brown beetles on the stored commodity. As the infestation increases, larvae and pupae may become evident.

Disagreeable odour in the commodity is an indication of the presence of these beetles.

Presence of large numbers is indicative of old stores of poor quality.

Plants/Seeds/external feeding

[NO INFORMATION AVAILABLE]

A study found that this beetle, including all of its developmental stages, showed very high sensitivity to the heating degrees especially to 50 and 55°C [11].

[NO INFORMATION AVAILABLE]

[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:

EU pesticides database (http://ec.europa.eu/food/plant/pesticides/eu-pesticides-database/)
PAN pesticide database (www.pesticideinfo.org)
Your national pesticide guide

No information found

No information found

https://www.grainscanada.gc.ca/en/grain-quality/manage/identify-an-insect/primary-insect-pests/longheaded-flour-beetle.html#:~:text=Latheticus%20oryzae%20Waterhouse&text=Adults%20are%20yellowish%20to%20brownish,head%20capsule%20and%20dark%20urogomphi

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Latheticus_oryzae

https://plantwiseplusknowledgebank.org/doi/10.1079/PWKB.Species.29923#image-bw-5460399

https://doi.org/10.1079/cabicompendium.37964

https://doi.org/10.1079/cabicompendium.10098https://doi.org/10.1079/cabicompendium.948

https://doi.org/10.1079/cabicompendium.51728

http://eagri.org/eagri50/ENTO331/lecture32/017.html

https://agritech.tnau.ac.in/crop_protection/crop_prot_crop_sto_insect_primary_pest_12.html

https://bugguide.net/node/view/207939https://www.iasj.net/iasj/article/53424