Mesomorphus longulus (Reiche and Saulcy).
Common name: Hay beetle.
Taxonomic placing: Insecta, Holometabola, Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae.
Geographical distribution: The Middle East.
Morphology: Body of adult shiny black, about 6-7 mm in length. Larvae initially dark-yellow, than turning to brown, length up to 14 mm.
Life history: Hay beetles live mostly in or under haystacks, feeding on the soft parts of the hay. They undergo a single annual generation, laying their eggs and developing in mid-summer. The beetles feed on the hay during late summer and autumn, dropping to the soil in winter, where they remain unill next spring.
Economic importance: The beetles sometimes feed on the seedlings of various crops (e.g. potato and sorghum, (Sorghum bicolor (L.) Moench)), thereby causing occasional to severe economic damage. In addition, M. longulus may become a nuisance in summer when it invades houses due to being attracted to light.
Management
Mechanical methods: Stacking hay bales on a concrete floor, not leaving them in the field on the soil.
Fumigation: Fumigating of heavily infested bales with methyl bromide resulted in almost total pest kill.
Chemical control: Whenever necessary, in heavily infested fields, a suitable pesticide can be applied in the seed furrows before germination.
References
Bunalski, M., Samin, N. and Ghahari, H. 2014. Contributions to the knowledge on the darkling beetles (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) of Khorasan and Semnan Province, Iran. WiadomoĊci Entomologiczne 33: 188-193.
Calderon, M. 1956. The hay beetle. Hassadeh 36:740-742 (in Hebrew).
Harpaz, I. and Slaye, G. 1959. Control of soil pests in sorghum. Hassadeh 39: 759-760 (in Hebrew).
Website
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