Cigarette Beetle vs Tumulitermes Mound Termite

Side-by-side species comparison

Attribute Cigarette Beetle Tumulitermes Mound Termite
Scientific Name Lasioderma serricorne Tumulitermes pastinator
Order Coleoptera Blattodea
Family Ptinidae Termitidae
Size 2-3 mm 3-5 mm
Habitat Gardens Grasslands
Diet Omnivores Omnivores
Regions Worldwide Northern Australia
Conservation Not Evaluated Least Concern

Cigarette Beetle

A tiny, reddish-brown beetle that infests stored tobacco, spices, and dried foods. It is one of the most widespread stored-product pests.

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Did You Know?

It can chew through tin foil and even reportedly survives eating dried chili peppers.

Tumulitermes Mound Termite

An Australian grass-harvesting termite that builds small columnar mounds in tropical savannas. Workers forage in open columns to harvest grass during cooler parts of the day. Nasute soldiers protect the foraging parties from ant attacks.

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Did You Know?

This species times its foraging precisely to avoid the heat of the day, emerging in synchronized mass foraging events at dawn and dusk.