*4.6.2 Saw-toothed grain beetle (*Oryzaephilus surinamensis *(Linnaeus, 1758) Coleoptera: Silvanidae)*

Distribution: The saw-toothed grain beetle is cosmopolitan in nature and is found in almost all places of the world.

*Host range*: The main host includes infesting grains, meals, flour, dried fruits, and many other seeds.

*Bionomics*: The saw-toothed grain beetle has six saw-like projections on each side of the thorax, with three-segmented antennae. It is cosmopolitan and has a long, slender, dark chocolate brown, much-flattened structure (**Figure 7**). Both larvae and adults are voracious feeders and are very active, hence do not spend their lives within a single grain but crawl as well as infest almost every grain. Larvae are white in color, with black markings, flatform, three pairs of legs, and an abdominal proleg. Larvae construct delicate cocoons by secreting silk-like secretory substances which bind food particles and grains with each other. Inside this cocoon, larvae are transformed into pupae and later into adult beetles.

*Damage symptoms*: Larvae, as well as cocoon formation, is the primary indication of this pest infestation.
