| Tobacco beetle pest: At a glance – What is it? A warehouse pest found in temperate and tropical regions worldwide. – How to detect it? Use sticky traps with the female tobacco beetle sex pheromone serricornin. – How to control it? Focus on non-chemical approaches, including natural predators like Tenebriodes sp. (Tenebrionidae), Thaneroclerus sp. (Cleridae), and wasps in the families Pteromalidae, Eurytomidae and Bethylidae. – How to prevent it? Store food in pest-proof containers and ensure good cleanliness in storage areas. |
Overview
- Life cycle and identification of the tobacco beetle
- Infestation of the tobacco beetle
- Getting rid of the tobacco beetle: Control methods
- Useful links
The tobacco beetle (Lasioderma serricorne) is a troublesome warehouse pest. Also known as the cigar or cigarette beetle, it can be found in temperate and tropical regions all over the world. The beetle likes to live in dried tobacco including in leaves, cigars, cigarettes or chewing tobacco.
But do not let the name fool you. The tobacco beetle causes damage to a variety of stored products. These include cereal, dates, dried fish, ginger, grain, pepper, pharmaceuticals, raisins and seeds.
The tobacco beetle lives in dark or poorly lit areas. You can find it in cracks, corners and crevices. The beetles can become active in bright, open areas, but are most active at dusk and throughout the night.
The tobacco beetle could be damaging at least 1% of all warehouse tobacco in the USA. This is comparable to $300 million of stored tobacco every year and has serious economic consequences.
Additionally, adults can fly long distances. As a result, they can damage products far away from the original infestation site.
Life cycle and identification of the tobacco beetle
For a more detailed description of the tobacco beetle’s lifecycle, see this webpage.
The tobacco beetle has a four-stage lifecycle: egg, larva, pupa and adult. The beetle is very similar in appearance to the drugstore beetle (Stegobium paniceum). And it also looks like the common furniture beetle (Anobium punctatum).
Eggs
Mature females lay up to 90-100 eggs. These hatch after five to seven days.
Tobacco beetles can reproduce as soon as they become adults. The eggs are pearl white in colour. In shape, they are oval with a slight swelling in the middle. One end of the egg has small, raised bumps. When freshly laid, the eggs are translucent, smooth and shiny.
Larvae
When they hatch, the larvae are lively and become fully grown in 40-42 days.
They are creamy-white in colour with a yellow head and brown mouthparts. Mature larvae of the tobacco beetle are C-shaped and about 4.8mm long. They have long, yellowish-brown hairs.
Pupa/adult
Pupation lasts from one week to a month.
The duration of the tobacco beetle’s lifecycle depends on the food that is available and the temperature. The beetles do not like the cold.
The adult tobacco beetle is about 2.5mm long and light brown in colour. It has a ‘humpbacked’ appearance from where its head is bent down. Small hairs cover its back and the antennae are jagged.
For more information, please check the ISC datasheet.
Infestation of the tobacco beetle
Tobacco beetle larvae can infest and feed on dried tobacco. Any form will do – bundled leaves, cigars, cigarettes or chewing tobacco.
They can also feed on common crops like cereal and grain as well as book bindings, leaves and pharmaceuticals. So much so, they cause irreparable damage to anything they infest. They are a common pest in museums and stately homes. And they can spoil far more food than they consume.
Tobacco beetles hold symbiotic yeasts that produce B vitamins. The yeasts are deposited on the eggs. These deposits are eaten by the larvae when the egg hatches.
These yeasts give the tobacco beetle its nutrients. They enable them to feed and survive longer on foods and items that are low in nutrition.
Getting rid of the tobacco beetle: Control methods
Biocontrol and biopesticides
Biological control (or ‘biocontrol’) is based on natural technologies. It is the use of living organisms or naturally sourced compounds to control pest and disease populations.
It uses natural enemies or predators to control pests in an environmentally safe way. When used correctly, it can help growers to reduce the use of synthetic pesticides. Synthetics can harm crop production, soil health and wildlife. They can even harm people. The goal of biocontrol is to protect growers’ plants from unwanted pests and diseases.
Tobacco beetle predators include beetles such as Tenebriodes sp. (Tenebrionidae), Thaneroclerus sp. (Cleridae). Other natural enemies include parasitoids – an organism that lives on a host, at the host’s expense. These include wasps in the families Pteromalidae, Eurytomidae and Bethylidae.
Only one tobacco beetle biopesticide exists in Bangladesh. The lack of biopesticide products makes integrated pest management all the more important.
Integrated pest management (IPM)
Integrated pest management (IPM) programmes are a planned series of steps for managing diseases, pests and weeds. Moreover, Integrated pest management can control infestations at processing, distribution and storage facilities.
There are three key steps taken in integrated pest management. These are in the areas of prevention, detection and control.
Prevention
Preventing infestations of the tobacco beetle can be done in many ways. One way to prevent is to inspect all incoming food items for pests. Then these food items should be stored in hardy pest-proof containers.
Additionally, ensuring good cleanliness particularly in food storage areas, and nearby locations will reduce the risk of an infestation. Keep any potentially infested items in regular rotation.
Detection
To detect any tobacco beetles sticky traps can work. The female tobacco beetle sex pheromone, serricornin must be used with the trap. Using traps, it is possible to capture and, therefore, see and monitor the beetles. Traps help growers detect infestations.
When, and if, you locate any traces of tobacco beetles, dispose of the infested items as soon as possible. To ensure fast and accurate detection, change any pest monitors and service traps on a regular basis.
Control
As a world leader in nature-based pest management knowledge implementation, CABI encourages IPM as the preferred, ecologically-based approach to producing healthy crops. This approach allows for chemical pesticide use only as needed, and when adhering to measures that limit the exposure of people and the environment to them (see FAO, International Code of Conduct on Pesticide Management).
Before considering the use of chemical pesticides, farmers should explore all available non-chemical control solutions. These might include cultural practices and consulting the CABI BioProtection Portal for identifying and applying suitable biological control products (microbials, macrobials, natural substances and semiochemicals). Insect growth regulators can also be used as part of an IPM programme as they are based on natural substances. Insect growth regulators confuse insects and interfere with how they grow and reproduce. Methoprene is an example of an insect growth regulator. It was one of the first to be used on a stored product.
In case chemical pesticides are considered for use, farmers should look to select lower-risk chemical pesticides which, when used as part of an IPM strategy, help manage pest problems while minimizing harmful effects on human health and the environment. Agricultural advisory service providers can provide information on lower-risk chemical pesticides that are locally available and are compatible within an IPM strategy. These experts can also advise on the required personal protective equipment.
Useful links
- Want more information about managing the tobacco beetle? See the CABI Compendium Lasioderma Serricorne Factsheet.
- Technical Factsheet for Lasioderma serricorne (cigarette beetle)
