Galapagos Species Database

The Galapagos Species Database shares the information about the species from our Natural History Collections.

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Tribolium castaneum Herbst, 1797

Escarabajo, Red flour beetle

Scavenger; arid zone; January, September–October; at light, a pest of stored products.

Taxonomy

Domain
Eukaryota

Kingdom
Animalia

Phylum
Arthropoda

Class
Insecta

Order
Coleoptera

Suborder
Polyphaga

Superfamily
Tenebrionoidea

Family
Tenebrionidae

Section
Triboliini

Genus
Tribolium

Species
castaneum

Taxon category: Accepted

Origin: Introduced - established

Introduction

Year of first record: 1964

Mode of introduction: Accidental

Introduction Pathway: Contaminant

Subpathway: Food contaminant

Introduced status: Naturalized

Invasive status: Unlikely to become invasive

Distribution

Map of specimen collection localities or observation records for this species in our collections database.

Distribution: Santa Cruz

References

  • Kaszab, Z. (1970) Coleoptera, Tenebrionidae. Mission Zool. Belge aux îles Galapagos et en Ecuador (N. et J. Leleup, 1964-1965) 2: 183-210.
  • Linsley, E.G. (1977) Insects of the Galápagos (Supplement). Occassional Papers of the Califoria Academy of Sciences 125: 1-50.
  • Peck, S.B. (1996) Origin and development of an insect fauna on a remote archipelago: The Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. In: Keast A., Miller S.E. (eds.): The origin and evolution of Pacific Island biotas, New Guinea to eastern Polynesia: patterns and processes. SPB Academic Publishing, Amsterdam, The Netherlands, p. 91-122.
  • Peck, S.B. Heraty, J., Landry, B. & Sinclair, B.J. (1998) Introduced insect fauna of an oceanic archipelago: The Galápagos Islands, Ecuador. Am. Entomol. 44: 218-237.
  • Peck, S.B. (2006) The Beetles of the Galápagos Islands, Ecuador: Evolution, Ecology, and Diversity (Insecta: Coleoptera) NRC Research Press, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. 314 pp.

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This page should be cited as follows:

"Galapagos Species Database, Tribolium castaneum", dataZone. Charles Darwin Foundation, https://datazone.darwinfoundation.org/en/checklist/?species=7021. Accessed 1 November 2026.