The Confused Rice Flour Beetle, Tribolium confusum, is a common pest in many grain-based foods. The traits that make it a pest species – namely, it’s short reproductive cycle, exponential growth rate, and tolerance to a wide variety of conditions – also serve to make the Confused Rice Flour Beetle an ideal insect to culture for a wide variety of reptiles and amphibians that prefer smaller foods, especially Poison Dart Frogs.
Confused Rice Flour Beetles are a little over 1/8 inches long when adults, and can live for over a year. Adults lay eggs in Josh’s Frogs Rice Flour Beetle Media, which take about a week to hatch into larvae. Within 6 weeks, the larvae pupate and become adult beetles. Due to their longevity and short maturation time, Confused Rice Flour Beetles can quickly increase their population in a culture.
The Confused Rice Flour Beetle, Tribolium confusum. Larvae on left, adult beetle on right.
Comments