Effect of Barley and Buckwheat Grain Processing on the Development and Feeding of the Confused Flour Beetle

The consequences of pearling and cutting (barley Hordeum vulgare L.), and roasting and cutting (buckwheat Fagopyrum esculentum Möench) on the development and food consumption of the confused flour beetle Tribolium confusum Duv. were studied. The factors affecting the increase in the T. confusum population, and food consumption effectiveness (the proportion of wasted food in the whole amount of the used product) were different in barley and buckwheat. The best barley product for T. confusum was the flour. The population number, the proportion of imagines, and the effectiveness of food consumption were relatively high for cut groats, compared to whole barley. The toughness of the whole groats was most likely the cause of the lowest suitability of this product for the confused flour beetle. Neither the size of the cut groats nor the pearling of barley had any effect on T. confusum development and food consumption effectiveness. The best buckwheat product for T. confusum was the whole hulled non-processed groats. In these groats, the total population number, the proportion of imagines, and the effectiveness of food consumption were relatively high compared to cut groats. The total population number was the lowest in the steamed groats. The decrease in nutrients and B vitamins due to the removal of the embryo and aleurone layer during the breaking process of buckwheat, was possibly the main factor affecting T. confusum development and food consumption in buckwheat.