Class: Insects
Size: 2.5 to 5mm
Weight: Variable
Age: 6 months to 2.5 years (depending on climate)
Appearance: Light to reddish brown coloured
Food: Cereals
Distribution: Worldwide
Original location: Near East
Habitat: In stored grain
Natural enemies: Ichneumon wasps
Threatened with extinction: No

• The grain weevil is a species of the Curculionidae family and, like the ancestors of today’s cereal species, originated in the Near East. It is the most common grain pest in Europe and has been confirmed as early as the early Neolithic period (transition from hunter/gatherer culture to pastoral/farming culture).
• Grain weevils are distributed worldwide (cosmopolitan), in Europe from the north to the south. The grain trade spread the beetle from the Middle East to all temperate zones of the earth. Tropical and subtropical climates are not tolerated by the beetle, therefore no economic damage is observed in these areas.
• In granaries and mills, the grain weevil is a feared pest and can occur there in large numbers. It can even be found in dried vegetables.
• The development of the beetle from egg to insect takes place in a grain, the rest of its life outside.
• Grain weevils infest various types of grain: rye, wheat, barley, spelt, milo, maize, oats, malt, rice, buckwheat, shelled acorns and finished products such as pasta. If there is a choice of different cereals, the beetles prefer rye. If the stored goods are heavily infested, temperature and humidity rise due to beetle activity. This causes serious consequential damage due to the appearance of mites and moulds.