Tobacco Beetle
Lasioderma serricorne
Summary 6
Lasioderma serricorne, commonly known as the cigarette beetle, cigar beetle, or tobacco beetle, is very similar in appearance to the drugstore beetle (Stegobium paniceum) and the common furniture beetle (Anobium punctatum), and all three species belong to the family Anobiidae.
Morphology 7
Adult cigarette beetles are small, reddish-yellow or brownish-red oval shaped beetles. They appear hunched when viewed from the side due to the angle of their head, which is bent downwards almost perpendicular to the thorax. Their wing covers are smooth and unstriated. Adult cigarette beetles are often confused with drugstore beetles, which have striated wing covers and are longer and thinner than drugstore beetles. Cigarette beetle larvae are off-white, grub-shaped, covered with long yellowish-brown hairs, and have three pairs of legs and a brown head. When fully grown, both adults and larvae are 2 to 3 mm long. Adults weigh 0.0016 to 0.0044 g.
Range mass: 0.0016 to 0.0044 g.
Range length: 2 to 3 mm.
Sexual Dimorphism: sexes alike
Other Physical Features: ectothermic ; bilateral symmetry
Habitat 8
The habitat of cigarette beetles is difficult to define because they can be found anywhere that there are stored food products to eat. The only requirements that it needs for life are warm temperatures and some humidity. Elevation and proximity to water are apparently unimportant to this species.
Habitat Regions: temperate ; tropical ; terrestrial
Other Habitat Features: urban ; suburban ; agricultural
Sources and Credits
- (c) James Bailey, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), uploaded by James Bailey
- (c) Valter Jacinto, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://farm2.static.flickr.com/1047/5114257689_836d282847.jpg
- (c) Art Cushman, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), https://collections.nmnh.si.edu/services/media.php?env=ento&irn=9103736
- (c) Chris Moody, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC), http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7049/6917979393_ffc4f750fc_o.jpg
- (c) gbohne, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5250/5326374248_6d93aea912.jpg
- (c) Wikipedia, some rights reserved (CC BY-SA), http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lasioderma_serricorne
- (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31400828
- (c) The Regents of the University of Michigan and its licensors, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC-SA), http://eol.org/data_objects/31400827
