Khapra Beetle is one of the most damaging pests of stored products including cereal grains, beans, seeds, livestock meals, dried milk, dried fruit, spaghetti and spices. Processed grain can be reduced to powder by Khapra Beetle attack.
Khapra Beetle is difficult to control as it can survive abnormal conditions without food for a long time. A distinctive feature of Trogoderma granarium infestation is the presence of cast skins of the larvae. Larvae are capable of living more than 7 years without food.
The larvae burrow into sacking, weakening the material and causing it to tear. Larvae have also been found in stocks of paper bags, in sheets of insulation and corrugated cardboard packing and can even adhere to rodents’ fur.
Khapra Beetle is a constant threat and continuing challenge to quarantine; which could prove costly in terms of trade, if it became established in Australia.