Khapra beetle

Khapra beetle is not established in the ACT or anywhere else in Australia.

About the pest

Khapra beetle (Trogoderma granarium) is a serious pest of stored grain and dry food worldwide. It infests stored produce such as grain shipments or silos, eating the produce and making it inedible.

Why they are a problem

Khapra beetle can cause losses of up to 75% of goods from direct feeding.

Infested grain also becomes contaminated with beetles, cast skins and hairs from larvae, which can be a health risk and are difficult to remove from grain storage structures and transport vessels.

What to look for

• Khapra beetle adults are small (2–3 mm long and 1–2 mm wide), brownish in colour with a smooth oval shaped body. There are 3 transverse bands (markings) of pale colour hairs on the wing covers.
• Eggs hatch into small hairy larvae that can grow up to 7 mm long, are reddish brown in colour and darken as they mature.
• Larvae have characteristic long hairs all over their body, especially at the rear end and can survive without food for over 12 months.

How it spreads

Khapra beetles spread primarily through international commerce and trade rather than natural flight. They are transported across borders via infested grain shipments, food products, agricultural machinery and packaging materials.

Because they are excellent "hitchhikers," they often remain undetected in the crevices of shipping containers for years.

Report sightings