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Creature Feature
The cigarette beetle is a common stored product pest that has a history of being associated with humans dating back to Egyptian tombs. Although a tropical insect, it has a worldwide distribution considering stored products are normally kept in climate-controlled environments. It is closely related to the drugstore beetle, a temperate stored product pest with similar habits. The cigarette beetle has serrate antennae and smooth wing covers; the drugstore beetle’s antennae end in three-segmented clubs and their wing covers have pitted rows.
The cigarette beetle belongs to the Anobiid family, which also contains wood-boring beetles. Anobiid beetles have yeasts in their digestive tracts that help them consume and survive on foods with poor nutritional quality. The cigarette beetle is the most serious pest of stored tobacco, but also feeds on a wide range of plant and animal-based stored products. It can bore through plastic and cardboard, even into wood, although the latter
The fruit fly originated in tropical African rainforests and spread to all the major continents by ship transport. It was first reported in New York State in 1875. By 1915, it was reported from California and was common throughout northern America in 1920. The fruit fly is an effective colonizer due to its short life cycle, high offspring production and its ability to fly several miles per day. It is a frequent pest in food-handling establishments.
Fruit flies are commensal, meaning they strongly associate with people and are highly dependent on human activity. They can use a wide variety of food sources if they contain yeasts from fermentation, which is an early stage of decomposition. This is the main difference between fruit flies and other small pest flies that are attracted to late-stage decomposition caused by bacteria and fungi. Yeasts are necessary for larval fruit fly growth and must be present in their breeding medium. As a result, fruit flies are often a problem in bars
Although named the German cockroach, the most widespread cockroach pest in the world probably originated in Southeast Asia and expanded to urban areas through human travel and commerce. The first specimens to be identified may have been from Germany and assumed to be German. However, the fact that cold is a major limiting factor to their survival points to their not being native to Europe.
German cockroaches are domestic pests that rely on humans for food, harborage, and transportation. They are rarely found outdoors and not in wild populations away from structures. Although they have fully developed wings, they do not fly since they are specialized for living with and being transported by humans. They also have certain reproductive traits that allow infestations to grow rapidly. While most cockroach species drop their egg capsules, German cockroach females carry theirs until the eggs are ready to hatch, which helps prevent dehydration and parasitism. Each German cockroach