Adult : 2-3mm long, reddish to blackish brown, slim, cylindrical body with head bent downwards and not visible from above, and last three segments of antennae forming a club.Larvae : 3mm long, “C” shaped, whitish with brown head and 3 pairs of legs.

Eggs (300-500 in a lifetime) laid singly or in clusters of 02-30, loosely amongst the grain. Larvae bore into the grain and pupate within. Entire life cycle takes about 25 days. Adults are long lived.

Adults can fly. They as well as larvae, are voracious feeders capable of penetrating packaging material. They bore into grain and eat out the entire starchy interior and the seed coat in places, leaving irregular holes and large quantities of floury dust. A primary pest of cereal grains and other seeds; also feeds on dried potatoes, tapioca, herbs, tobacco, nuts, beans, biscuits, cocoa beans, dried fruit, peanuts, spices, drugs, leather goods, book bindings and dried fish and meat. Heavily infested wheat has a honey-like odour.