South American Beetle?

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HawkShark Tallahassee, FL Mar 26, 2009

Might have caught a ride with me to the US from Peru. They were in a bag of roasted corn, and since winter break when i came here with it... they've propagated and there seem to be dozens of them. You cant tell the color from my shitty digital camera, but it's Black with orange/brown sections on its thorax... On some of the smaller ones the entire back in brown/orange. It looks to me to be a weevil like thing, but i really don't have a clue and now i'm afraid i may have unleashed a pest insect on north Florida...

Any info would be appreciated...

-Renzo

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Post #6320598
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suunto Sinks Grove, WV Mar 26, 2009

This is indeed a weevil (Coleoptera: Curculionidae), but in addition to no size scale, the image is too fuzzy to say much more. There are several species in the cosmopolitan genus Sitophilus that readily infest whole grains - see http://tinyurl.com/cqt3vh for some examples. These are quite small (2 to 4 mm long) insects.

Post #6321317
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HawkShark Tallahassee, FL Mar 26, 2009

Hmm it does look a lot like

http://www.feedandgrain.com/images/article/1213131053292_MaizeWeevil.jpg

If it is a Maize Weevil, do you think i should contact some sort of pest control?

This message was edited Mar 26, 2009 6:19 AM

Post #6321373
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suunto Sinks Grove, WV Mar 26, 2009

That shouldn't be necessary - you should inspect all infestable foodstuffs in your home and discard (best by burning) anything found infested. Thoroughly (and I mean thoroughly) clean all food storage areas, paying particular attention to cracks/seams where fine particles might accumulate. Then store all remaining such food products in insect-proof containers (sealable glass, metal, or heavy plastic such as Tupperware), or in the refrigerator. That should take care of the problem; pesticides use in food storage areas should be avoided unless as a very last resort for stubborn infestations.

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