Common name : Cigarette beetle
Scientific name : Lasioderma serricorne
Family : Anobiidae
Native to : Worldwide distribution
Interesting fact : Because of the fact that this insect is a pest to the tobacco plant primarily, it has been given the popular name–cigarette beetle.
3 mm in length, the cigarette beetle lives only for 2-6 weeks as an adult, but does not feed either as an adult. The diet is mainly comprised of tobacco plant, but it is also considered a pest of sage, flour, dried fruit, cereals, etc. A female beetle can lay up to 100 eggs on the tobacco plant or commodity. They are known to dwell in cracks, nooks and crevices. And if threatened or disturbed, they tuck their heads inwards, pull in their legs and lay motionless.
