Kaprov beetle - fighter food stocks

The family of beetle eater beetles includes 600 species. Most of them harm food supplies and museum collections. They are found in all zones, but prefer countries with a dry and hot climate. Skin tanners damage various products of animal and vegetable origin: skin, feathers, meat, cheese, smoked meats, stuffed animals, book bindings. One of the dangerous species - a capra beetle eats rice, wheat, corn, peanuts, copra. Grain skeletal is registered in 60 countries. It refers to quarantine objects.

Insect description

The beetle beetle (Trogodermagranarium) in appearance is a typical representative of the winged wing order. Body size and color may vary. The shape of the body is oval, the sides are parallel to each other. The average size of the beetle is 1.8-3 mm. Abdomen brownish-brown, elytra brown. On the body there is a pattern of darker dressings. The upper body is covered with thin yellowish or black hairs. They grow towards the dorsal line. Despite the fact that adults do not feed, they have a well-developed oral apparatus of a gnawing type. There are three pairs of limbs on the body. Antennae and legs are yellow. Elytra short and underdeveloped. Beneath them are faint webbed wings. The beetle does not fly, but can fly.

Information. One of the most reliable signs of pest identification is the structure of the chin. It has a deep indentation in the middle.

Sexual dimorphism

Females are slightly larger than males, their color is lighter. The main distinguishing feature is the structure of the antennae. The mace of males consists of 4-5 segments, the apex is long and triangular, and in females of 3-4 segments, the final one is short triangular in shape. In males, a row of black hairs is located along the edge of the fifth abdominal sternite.

Larva structure

Small eggs 0.7 mm, elongated, white. Of these, a young larva of 1.5-1.8 mm in dyne appears. Brownish hairs cover their yellowish-white body. Adult face reaches 6 mm, its color becomes brownish. The upper body is convex, and the lower is flattened. There are 3 types of hairs on the body - spinous, spear-shaped and simple. On the sides and at the end of the abdomen they are bundled. There are three pairs of chest legs. The oral apparatus is well developed, the body consists of 11 segments.

Biological features

It is the skin-bearer larvae that are responsible for all the harm done to human stocks. They are mobile, lead a secretive lifestyle, hide from the light. At the first age, they are small and eat crushed or damaged grain, as they grow older they switch to a whole product. The life span is up to 150 days. For such a long period, the offspring of the skin-beater replaces 6-7 ages. In this state, they winter in the food substrate. Under adverse conditions, deterioration in food quality, a critical increase in the population of larvae fall into diapause. Insects crawl into the slots of pillars or plasters, where they freeze for a different period - from several weeks to four years.They come to life after the appearance of fresh clean food. The offspring of a caper beetle does not die at low subzero temperatures. Frost -10 ° C kills 73% of larvae, and they survive higher rates, slowing down processes in the body.

Attention. The main factor in the spread of pests is larval transfer in the state of diapause. The insect is carried on rodent hair, in the cracks of the container, on the clothes of workers, using vehicles.

During their development, the larvae molt 4-7 times. The number of links increases with a lack of food. They dump the old skin, polluting the grain. If it goes to feed livestock, then the bristles from the body of the insect irritate the oral mucosa, cause swelling and irritation. Offspring of 3-6 age go for wintering. Overwinter in crevices and cracks. In the spring, after diapause, the larvae complete their development and turn into a pupa. After 2-3 weeks, young beetles appear.

Doll

The color of the pupa is light cream, the size depends on the sex of the insect - in males - 3.5 mm, in females - 5 mm. The body is covered with red hairs, a conical crest on the head. Between the first segments of the abdomen are folds with sharp teeth.

Distribution area

The birthplace of a caper bug India. It appeared in the hot climate of southern Asia, but quickly spread throughout the world. A large number of pests observed in Western Europe, Africa, Central Asia, Japan. It is found in another part of the world - New Zealand. In the United States, a beetle is the most dangerous fighter for grain stocks. In Russia, this quarantine facility is absent. In many countries: the USA, Australia, Cuba, Indonesia, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Belgium and other pests were introduced, but were destroyed or could not adapt to the local climate.

Interesting fact. In the USSR, local foci of infection of warehouses of food stocks with grain skin-eater were recorded. Beetle was found in Kazakhstan, Central Asia, Stavropol Territory. Thanks to phyto-sanitary measures, the pest was quickly destroyed, the infection did not recur.

Reproduction and Life Cycle

Grain Kozheed is a beetle with a complete transformation. The full development cycle depends on temperature and environmental conditions, on average it is 30-180 days. Harmless adults live for 7-20 days, the largest period falls on the feeding larva. Fertilized females die immediately after laying eggs. The number of copulations increases the fecundity of insects.

The optimal temperature for the accelerated development of insects is 33-35 ° C, air humidity 75%. When the temperature drops to 22 ° C, the full cycle takes 220 days. After mating, the female lays from 70 to 100 eggs. Ovipositor time is directly dependent on temperature - at 38-40 ° C the eggs are laid after 1 day, at 20 ° C they are not laid at all. Usually one generation is replaced per year, in regions with a hot climate - two.

Malware

Adult skin-eaters do not eat and do not carry harm to their reserves. Damage to food and seeds is caused by larvae. Small insects are capable of destroying huge volumes of grain and other stocks, causing tremendous material damage. Huge colonies of offspring of skin-eaters show round-the-clock activity, eating without interruptions. They affect more than 100 types of products: legumes, crops, seeds, nuts, gourds, flowers and forest crops. Food warehouses, flour mills, bakeries, and confectionery breweries are at risk.

Information. Cases have been recorded where a grain-breeder depleted grain and destroyed 70% of the stored stock.

The offspring of a caper beetle is able to eat grain with a minimum moisture content (6%), no pest feeds on such dry products. Larvae make their way to food through the densest barriers. They gnaw through polyethylene, kraft paper, aluminum foil, polypropylene and polyester. To ensure safety, imported regulated products are inspected and sent for analysis.

Malicious manifestations include:

• Loss of germination of grain due to eating the germ.
• The appearance of a musty smell, the loss of commercial qualities, weight reduction stocks.
• Clogging stocks with a large amount of excrement, skins, bodies of dead beetles.
• Affected foods change humidity and temperature, creating conditions for the development of fungus and mold.
• With significant infection, grain and products from it carry a health hazard. Allergic reactions, dermatitis, conjunctivitis are provoked.
• Damaged grain should not be given to livestock due to toxic bristles and debris.
• Oil obtained from contaminated raw materials has an unpleasant taste and high acidity.

Reliable information about the identification of a kaprov beetle is obtained during the study using special equipment.

Methods of struggle

The main routes of infection are the importation of a pest with a batch of products or vehicles (ships, railroad cars, trucks). Kozheedy can get into the country, hiding in containers and packaging, parcels with seeds.

Methods for detecting infection:

1. Visual - inspects the premises, transport, product samples for the detection of adults, larvae or traces of their vital activity.
2. Photothermoelector - a sample of grain is poured into a sieve of the device, heated and illuminated. Moving larvae creep out, leaving a mark.
3. A set of sieves - several sieves with different mesh sizes are used, grain and impurities remain in the upper ones, and insects fall into the lower ones.
4. Traps - vegetable oil (soybean, sunflower, corn) is poured into the container, which attracts and retains pests.
5. Pheromone traps - adhesive tapes saturated with pheromone are set to attract males.
6. Food lures - gauze bags with crushed grain or nuts are laid out in a warehouse in May, and in August they are collected for pests.

Destroying the larvae of the capra beetle is quite difficult. They are amazingly tenacious, resistant to low and high temperatures, pesticides. The ability to fall into a state of diapause increases the survival of the larvae.

When a pest is identified, the following measures are applied to its destruction:

1. Physical and mechanical methods of control - heating grain products to temperatures above 50 ° C, cooling. One option to save stocks is by separation. The procedure is performed after cooling the grain, it allows you to remove the corpses of insects. It is made by mobile grain cleaning machines.
2. Chemical methods of extermination - the use of insecticides. Fumigation is performed - disinfection of the product using poison gas. Phosphine is recommended for kapro beetle destruction. Fumigation is carried out in several ways - in special chambers, when moving, under the cover of a polymer film.
3. In some cases, the treatment of grain with a contact insecticide is used. Products are stacked on a conveyor and sprayed with an aqueous solution of a pesticide.

Preventative measures

Grain and its processed products coming to Russia from countries where it is possible to infect with a beetle beetle are subjected to especially careful phyto-sanitary control. Food storage locations are regularly examined to identify pests on time. A significant preventive factor is the cleanliness of production and storage facilities. In order to prevent the infection of grain with pests, a planned gas disinfection, aerosol treatment of objects, and wet cleaning are carried out. The greatest efficiency is achieved by combining all the methods of prevention.