Latin: Cryptolestes ferrugineus or Laemophloeus f. The genus Cryptolestes is a complex of several species that are all very similar to each other. They can all occur in grains, bran, flour and the like, often in very large numbers. The rust-red grain beetle is 2 mm long and it is uni-coloured. The sides of the […]
The merchant grain beetle
Latin: Oryzaephilus mercator. Looks somewhat like the saw-toothed grain beetle but differs from it by the size and shape of a small outgrowth behind the eye (p. 50). In households, it is as common as the saw-toothed grain beetle, but it is not seen in grain stocks. The merchant grain beetle prefers nuts without shells […]
The saw-toothed grain beetle
Latin: Oryzaephilus surinamensis. 2.5 – 3.5 mm long, slender and brown-black. The distinctive features are the serrated growths on the prothorax side edges just behind the head. It cannot infest whole, undamaged kernels and it mainly eats seeds. In goods of cereal origin, flour and grain in particular, it is one of our most common […]
Grain beetles
Elongated small beetles, 2 – 3.5 mm long. The saw-toothed grain beetle, the merchant grain beetle and the rust-red grain beetle are primarily of interest. In addition to these, a large number of less known grain beetles exist, which are rare in Europe, which include Cryptolestes minutus (commonly known as the flat grain beetle or […]
The Indian meal moth
Latin: Plodia interpunctella. A beautiful little moth with eye-catching colours. The elytrons’ inner third is light gray, while the rest is reddish brown. The larvae are yellow-white with dark brown heads. The larvae are 12 – 13 mm long when ready for pupation. The Indian meal moth probably originated from Europe, but can now be […]
The brown house moth
Latin: Hofmannophila pseudopretella. This is quite a large moth, usually 1.5 cm long. The wings are almost bronze-brown and the elytrons have small but distinct dark spots. The largest of the larvae are about 2 cm in length. They are whitish except for the head which is dark. All types of plant material can be […]
Tropical warehouse moth
Latin: Ephestia cautella. The tropical warehouse moth also belongs to the chocolate moths and is very similar to the previous two species, both in appearance and way of life. The tropical warehouse moth has higher demands for temperature and is particularly prevalent in tropical and subtropical regions. The tropical warehouse moth can attack virtually all […]
The warehouse moth
Lat: Ephestia elutella – Also called cocoa moth or tobacco moth. It belongs to the group of moths called chocolate moths. The warehouse moth is similar to the Mediterranean flour moth. The warehouse moth is common in warehouses and households throughout the temperate part of the globe. It infests, among other foods, grain, seed, feed, […]
The Mediterranean flour moth
Latin: Anagasta kuehniella or Ephestia kuehniella. The rather narrow wings have a span of 20-25 mm. Forewings are leaden with dark, zig-zag-shaped transverse lines and dots. The rear wings are pale gray with long fringes on the back edge. The Mediterranean flour moth larvae which can be 15-19 mm long, are white, pink or bright […]
Butterflies
Butterflies are easily recognised from other types of insects by their four large wings that are studded with coloured dust that rubs off easily. Mouth parts are built like a proboscis, which when not in use is rolled up like a spring under the head. Butterflies have complete metamorphosis and development from egg to adult […]
Booklice
Latin: Psocoptera or Copeognatha. Booklice is an insect family, which in Europe includes several hundred species. They are small insects with rather broad heads and smooth skin. They are rather small, no more than 1 – 2 mm in length and the species may only be determined under a microscope. Most are pale and yellowish, […]
The extermination of cockroaches
Before you start the extermination, it is practical to locate the insects’ hiding places. Cockroaches will swarm into hiding if you suddenly turn on the light in a dark room. Spray containing pyrethrin in the suspected cracks will chase the cockroaches out. For the extermination you can use aerosols or sprays containing pyrethrin (or an […]
The American cockroach
Latin: Periplaneta americana. The large, beautiful American cockroaches are originally from central Africa, but have been shipped to the United States on slave ships. They are seen regularly in food, but do not thrive under Northern European conditions. A similar species the Australian cockroach is also found in food occasionally. Both species can only survive […]
The brown-banded cockroach
Latin: Supella longipalpa. An adult, brown-banded cockroach is about 1 cm long, light brown with lighter drawings. This elegant insect began to appear in Northern Europe in the 1970s and has gradually become common. It requires heat to thrive, any temperature between 25 and 30 ° C will do. It can survive in dry places. […]
The Oriental cockroach
Latin: Blatta orientalis. The Oriental cockroach is not as common as the German cockroach. It is shiny black and is up to 2.5 cm long. Elytrons are almost entirely missing in the females, but they cover part of the males’ abdomen. The Oriental cockroach cannot fly. It climbs poorly and is mostly found on the […]
The German cockroach
Latin: Blatella germanica. This is the most common of the cockroaches that occur in connection with food in Northern European countries. It is approximately 12 mm long and have well-developed elytrons that cover the entire abdomen. The breast is yellowish brown with two dark stripes. Under the elytrons are quite well-developed flying wings. They are […]
Cockroaches
250 million years ago, cockroaches existed, which were similar to those we know today. They are considered to be primitive insects. The vast majority of cockroach species live out in the open and do not come into contact with humans. Usually cockroaches are primarily tropical insects. The cockroaches which now live with us in houses […]
The firebrat
Latin: Thermobia domestica. The adult is almost 2 cm long. It is gray with dark spots. The firebrat requires more heat than silverfish to thrive. At temperatures below 25 ° C it cannot survive nor reproduce. At 27 ° C the eggs hatch in 44 days and the full development to maturity takes almost a […]
The Silverfish
Latin: Lepisma saccharina Silverfish are silvery glistening and can be up to 1 cm long. Silverfish hide in cracks and crevices during daylight. They are common in basements and attics, where they can be found in birds’ nests and old, abandoned wasps’ nests. Silverfish is practically omnivorous, with a preference for starchy foods. Their protein […]
Silverfish
( Latin: Order Thysanura) With their silvery scales and nimble, meandering movements, they can seem similar to glistening small fish. Silverfish have biting mouth parts and are insects. Characteristic are the three wires at the rear end. It’s been 300 million years since the first silver fish-like animal appeared. Some believe that all the various […]
The house dust mite
Latin: Dermatophagoides pteronyssinus and D.farinae. In the wild they most likely live in and around birds’ nests, but may occasionally occur as storage pests. The two species are somewhat similar to the flour mite, but the flour mites have smooth skin and the house dust mites have grooved skin. It is possible to find them […]
The cheese mite
Latin: Tyrolichus casei. Up to 0.7 mm long, whitish body with yellowish or red legs. The cheese mite is the most common of the mites that live in cheese and in places where cheese is stored. The cheese mite prefers substrates with available protein and high-fat foods. It cannot dig into cheese, but infests cheese […]
The prune mite
Latin: Carpoglyphus lactis. Whitish, with an oval body, about 0.4 mm long. Its mouth parts are pointed, conical protrusions on the body. Each leg ends in a small claw, which sits on a patch of skin. Prune mites occur on substrates containing sugar by bacterial degradation of lactic acid, acetic acid, or succinic acid. It […]
The Lardoglyphus zacheri
Lat: Lardoglyphus zacheri. Whitish, oval and can be up to 0.6 mm long. All legs end in double claws except the males’ legs where the third pair of legs end with two characteristic thorns and the fourth pair of legs end with single claws. This is a mite that lives on high-protein material and with […]
The common house mite
( Latin: Glycyphagus domesticus) Lat: Glycyphagus domesticus. Also called the furniture mite. The common house mite is very similar to the sugar mite. It can be seen indoors in humid spaces where it can form large populations in the autumn. It rarely contaminates food or animal feed. Both the sugar mite and the common house […]
The flour mite
Latin: Acarus siro (synonyms are Tyroglyphus farinae and Aleurobius farinae). Also called forage mite. A white, oval mite with red or yellow legs. It can be up to 0.65 mm long. The main characteristic of the flour mite is that the male has a large, thorn-shaped outgrowth on the first pair of legs. The flour […]
Mites
Only a fraction of the thousand species in Northern Europe can form larger populations in food. Mite populations can develop rapidly. This can result in the strange phenomenon we call “living dust”. It is made up of large quantities of larvae and nymphs, which, due to lack of food and space, migrates out of the […]
The various species
The insects which are referred to hereafter are grouped by relationship that is relatively easy to recognise after looking at our visual key in chapter 4. Within each group is listed the species most frequently encountered in food in western countries.
Bug Indentification
When someone finds a new animal, which is not yet known to science, and describes its appearance, it is the describer’s privilege to give it a species name – in Latin. Along with a family name, also in Latin, placed in front, this gives it a unique identification. However, in texts in other languages than […]
Mites
Since mites are arthropods just like insects, much of what is told about insects actually also cover mites. Mites look like tiny spiders and have eight legs. There is no head and no abdomen. A mite is just a bladder-shaped body which has legs on the underside and the front two pairs of feeding limbs […]
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