Cigarette, drugstore beetles see the (UV) light

A recent study published in the Journal of Economic Entomology finds that the cigarette beetle (Lasioderma serricorne) and drugstore beetle (Stegobium paniceum) are more attracted to ultraviolet (UV) light over blue (mercury vapor) light. The researchers, based in Japan, note that the findings could help pest management professionals fine-tune an integrated pest management (IPM) program of using pheromone traps and UV light traps together for both monitoring and control.

As Ed Ricciuti reports in an article for the Entomological Society of America’s Entomology Today, both stored product pest (SPP) species are voracious eaters. In addition to tobacco for cigarette beetles, he writes, “also on its menu are a host of other products, ranging from dried fish to cereals, even leather and upholstery, and pyrethrum that can kill a cockroach. Meanwhile, the drugstore beetle … goes it one better. As its name implies, its diet includes medicinal herbs and other pharmaceutical products, including strychnine. Both beetles, which are only a couple of millimeters long, prey on museum specimens and books, as well.”