Confused flour beetle larva, SEM

Coloured scanning electron micrograph (SEM) of Confused flour beetle larva (Tribolium confusum). Confused flour beetles are the most abundant and injurious insect pest of flour mills in the United States. Flour beetles attack milled grain products such as flour and cereals (as well as, beans, dried fruits, nuts, chocolate). Since it does not damage whole grain, it is regarded as a secondary pest. The adult female may lay over 400 eggs in a lifetime. The eggs are laid in the flour or grain and the immature stages remain in the material. The small white larvae feed for a few weeks and then transform to pupae. A generation may be completed in as little as 6 weeks. The adults may crawl from the site to infest other products such as grain products in your kitchen. Magnification: x4 when shortest axis printed at 25 millimetres.