. Bulletin of the Department of Agriculture. Agriculture; Agriculture. THE TOBACCO BEETLE. 7 FOOD HABITS OF BEETLES RELATED TO THE TOBACCO BEETLE. Beetles belonging to the same family as the tobacco beetle, the Ptinidae, in general usually feed on vegetable matter in an incipient stage of decay or in dried vegetable or animal substances. A few bore into solid wood and others attack living plants. The larger tobacco beetle {Catorama tabaci Guerin) feeds on to- bacco and tobacco seed (fig. 6). The drug-store beetle {Sitodrepa panicea Linnaeus) feeds on drug- store supplies such as dried roo
. Bulletin of the Department of Agriculture. Agriculture; Agriculture. THE TOBACCO BEETLE. 7 FOOD HABITS OF BEETLES RELATED TO THE TOBACCO BEETLE. Beetles belonging to the same family as the tobacco beetle, the Ptinidae, in general usually feed on vegetable matter in an incipient stage of decay or in dried vegetable or animal substances. A few bore into solid wood and others attack living plants. The larger tobacco beetle {Catorama tabaci Guerin) feeds on to- bacco and tobacco seed (fig. 6). The drug-store beetle {Sitodrepa panicea Linnaeus) feeds on drug- store supplies such as dried roots and seeds, and sometimes attacks tobacco. Its food habits are very similar to those of the tobacco beetle. Mezium americanum Laporte occurs in dwellings and breeds in dried animal substances. It is known to infest tobacco seed. A species of European origin, Ptinus fur Linnaeus, now widely distributed by commerce, is said to be often injurious to museum specimens, and has been reported fig. 6.—cigar tobacco injured by the as iniurill0" tobaCCO larger tobacco beetle {Catorama ta- - . * bad). The following records of food habits of several other species belonging to the same family have been given by Blatchley (71) : Trypopitys serieeus Say. Occurs beneath bark and on old branches of wild cherry and oak. Caenocara oculata Say. On low vegetation and in puff balls (Lycoperdon spp.). Ptilinus ruflcornis Say. Larvae bore into dead branches of oak and maple. Some species of Ptinidae bore into decaying timbers of houses. The ticking sound made has given these insects the name of " death- watch " beetle. LOSSES DUE TO THE TOBACCO BEETLE. Losses occasioned by the tobacco beetle, either directly or indirectly, occur to some extent in every place where cured or manufactured tobacco is handled. Various statements have been received from manufacturers which show that loss at the factories is very large, but this probably represents only a small part of the loss due to dama
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