Fungal feeder pest of stored grain

Damage to stored grains, seeds and food stuffs is of particular importance in that it occurs post-harvest and in theory should be easy to prevent.

Fungal feeders are often present on ripening grain and usually die out in storage but may persist in poorly stored grain or in grain heavily infested with other insects.

Some species supplement their diet by feeding on mold and mould spores while others eat nothing but mould.

The two-banded fungus beetle (Alphitophagus bifasciatus) is a little elongate-oval beetle slightly less than an eighth of an inch long. It is reddish brown with two broad black bands across the wing covers.

It is distributed over the world and is in general a feeder on fungi and molds, being a scavenger in refuse grains and grain products.
Fungal feeder pest of stored grain