Granary weevil

Description:

3mm long weevil. Brown with indistinct orange patches. See last photo for size comparison. Sitophilus is a cosmopolitan genus of weevils found on rice, maize and tamarind. It has also been found on Chickpea. Notable species, the Rice weevil, S. oryzae and the Maize weevil (S. zeamais) both damage a variety of standing crops, and other stored cereals. The two species are virtually cosmopolitan throughout the warmer parts of the world. Eggs are white and oval. The female lays the eggs inside the grain by chewing a minute hole in which each egg is deposited, followed by the sealing of the hole with a secretion. These eggs hatch into tiny grubs which stay and feed inside the grain and are responsible for most of the damage. Mature larvae are plump, legless and white, about 4 mm long. Pupation takes place inside the grain. The adult beetle emerges by biting a circular hole through outer layers of the grain. They are small brown weevils, virtually indistinguishable from each other, about 3.5-4.0 mm long with rostrum and thorax large and conspicuous. The elytra are uniformly dark brown. Each female is capable of laying 300-400 eggs, and the adults live for five to eight months and are capable fliers. The developing larva lives and feeds inside the grain hollowing it out in the process. In rice (the preferred host) the entire grain is usually destroyed by the time the adult emerges. Pest status: A very serious major (primary) pest of stored rice and other cereals in the warmer parts of the world.

Habitat:

House.