FLAT BARK BEETLE

also called Cucujid Beetle, any member of the approximately 500 species belonging to the insect family Cucujidae (order Coleoptera). These beetles, easily recognized by their narrow, flattened bodies, occur throughout the world and are usually brown in colour, although some species are red. Many (e.g., Cucujus, Catogenus) live under tree bark and feed on mites and wood-boring insects; a few are stored products pests such as the rust-red grain beetle (Cryptolestes ferrugineus), which eats the germ of grains. The larger cucujid beetles are about 12 millimetres (1/2 inch) long. Sometimes included in the flat bark beetle family is the flat grain beetle (q.v.) family Silvanidae.