Adult : 2-4mm long reddish-brown oval body with fine hairs, head is hidden under a domed hood, and wing covers are finely patterned with lines of dots. The last three antennal segments are particularly long. Larvae : white, 5 mm long, “C” shaped, with many short hairs.

Eggs (20-100) laid singly or in clusters on food material. Larvae tunnel through food material, form a cocoon and pupate within. Entire life cycle usually takes about 7 months, depending on conditions.

 

  Adults can fly. The tiny larvae can penetrate the finest cracks in packages and tunnel through the food. Their omnivorous feeding habits make them an important household and warehouse pest, particularly when foodstuffs are left undisturbed. Items attacked include most household food and spices, drugs, hair, horn leather, museum specimens, plant materials, cereal grains and products, flour, herbs, nuts, dried fruits, seeds, oilseed cake, etc. When badly infested, solid products are full of small round holes. It is also a serious pest of books and manuscripts.