Darkling Beetles

beetles of the family Tenebrionidae; dangerous pests of grain products (flour, groats). The body is elongated and dark. The antennae are 11-jointed. The fore and middle tarsi are five-jointed, and the hind tarsi are four-jointed. The larvae are cylindrical and have well-developed legs; sometimes they have a fork-shaped appendage.

Darkling beetles are ubiquitous. They are found in mills, factories for the production of groats and combined feeds, bread-making plants, groats and flour warehouses, granaries, and confectionery and pasta factories; they are often encountered in dwellings. Both the beetles and the larvae are harmful pests. They cause the nutritional quality of the products they damage to decrease. The most harmful darkling beetles are Tenebrio molitor, Tribolium confusum, Tribolium castaneum, Gnathocerus cornutus, and Tribolium destructor.