Flat grain beetles of the genus Cryptolestes (Coleoptera: Laemophloeidae) are one of the economically most important stored-product pests which feed on many kinds of agricultural products, especially grains. Nine of more than 40 described Cryptolestes species are recognized as stored-product pests and two of the pest species have a cosmopolitan distribution. Given the rapid growth in global trade of food products, ecological barriers to the spread of pests are easily overcome. Therefore, development of reliable systems for routine quarantine inspection and early infestation detection is vital. In the present study, we established a new rapid and accurate cytochrome c oxidase subunit I-based system for molecular identification of five common stored-product Cryptolestes species, namely, Cryptolestes capensis, Cryptolestes ferrugineus, Cryptolestes pusilloides, Cryptolestes pusillus and Cryptolestes turcicus. Five species-specific primer pairs for traditional uniplex polymerase chain reaction assay are described and their specificity and sensitivity for the identification process is evaluated using larval samples of 12 different populations from three continents (Asia, Europe and North America).

Academy of State Administration of Grain No 11 Baiwanzhuang Street Beijing China

Department of Entomology and Plant Pathology Oklahoma State University 127 Noble Research Center Stillwater Oklahoma USA

Department of Entomology China Agricultural University No 2 Yuanmingyuan West Road Beijing China

Department of Pest Control of Stored Products and Food Safety Crop Research Institute Drnovská 507 Prague Czech Republic

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