Typhaea stercorea

Typhaea stercorea is a cosmopolitan species of beetle of the family Mycetophagidae, known by the common name hairy fungus beetle.

Typhaea stercorea
Scientific classification
Kingdom:
Animalia
Phylum:
Arthropoda
Class:
Insecta
Order:
Coleoptera
Family:
Mycetophagidae
Genus:
Typhaea
Species:
T. stercorea
Binomial name
Typhaea stercorea

Description

Adult T. stercorea are 3 millimetres (0.12 in) long, oval, brown, flattened, and have hairy elytra with parallel lines of fine hairs. It takes 21 to 33 days for the species' eggs to hatch,[1] and the eggs are laid or loosely attached to grain. The larvae are able to move easily and the adults can run very fast and fly. The species are pests of grain.[2] This species may have been confused with minute mold beetles. When the species does damage, it is not possible to tell right away what insect is responsible.[3] The species eats stored products such as moldy cereal, tobacco, peanuts, and hay. The species also eats fungi that grow on damp food. One of the things that the larvae eats is fungi.[4] This species has been found in grain storages dating all the way back to the Iron Age.[5]

Habitat

The species can commonly be found on ripening hay and grain crops before harvest in temperate and tropical areas.[2]

Disease vector

It was discovered in 1994 that this species can carry Salmonella enterica serovar Infantis. The species carried the bacterium into a Danish broiler house that infected 39,900 day-old chicks. The chicks were infected by eating the beetles.[6] A study of species of beetles in broiler houses, including this species, showed that the beetles that are in broiler houses are likely to carry salmonella. The research also showed that the species can carry Salmonella enterica and Campylobacter spp.[7]

References
  1. Rees, David (2007). Insects of Stored Grain: A Pocket Reference. CSIRO Publishing. p. 39. ISBN 978-0-643-09385-0.
  2. Rees, David; Rangsi, Vanna (2004). Insects of stored products. CSIRO Publishing. pp. 84–85. ISBN 978-0-643-06903-9.
  3. Bailey, Peter (2007). Pests of Field Crops and Pastures: Identification and Control. CSIRO Publishing. p. 53. ISBN 978-0-643-06758-5.
  4. "Hairy Fungus Beetle (Typhaea stercorea)". OzAnimals. Retrieved 2010-02-03.
  5. Multiple authors (1995). Stored-grain ecosystems. CRC Press. p. 126. ISBN 978-0-8247-8983-1.
  6. B. Hald; A. Olsen & M. Madsen (1998). "Typhaea stercorea (Coleoptera: Mycetophagidae), a carrier of Salmonella enterica serovar Infantis in a Danish broiler house" (PDF). Journal of Economic Entomology. 91 (3): 660–664. PMID 9650515.
  7. M. N. Skov; A. G. Spencer; B. Hald; L. Petersen; B. Nauerby; B. Carstensen & M. Madsen (2004). "The role of litter beetles as potential reservoir for Salmonella enterica and thermophilic Campylobacter spp. between broiler flocks". Avian Diseases. 48 (1): 9–18. doi:10.1637/5698. JSTOR 1593432. PMID 15077793.
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