Despite its diminutive size, the cigarette beetle is a significant pest in tobacco related industries for which it gets its namesake.

[3] Geographically, L. serricorne is naturally found in pan-tropical regions, but they have been distributed all over the world through the dried goods trade.

Larvae of the cigarette beetle require temperatures between 15 °C and 40 °C in order to successfully hatch, with the most optimal range for fecundity being between 30 °C and 33 °C.

[5] The primary food source for this species includes the stored commodities they infest, such as spices, seeds, rice, cereals, and most notably, dried tobacco leaves.

[6]The food source of the cigarette beetle significantly influences fecundity, developmental time, survival rates, and body weight.

[4] Thus, the climate that is best suited to this species is the tropical zone, as a significant limitation to their geographic distribution is low temperature.

[5] The common name of cigarette beetle may be misleading, as this species has a wide range of food resources.

[11] Lasioderma serricorne primarily feed off stored commodities such as spices, seeds, rice, cereal, and most notably dried tobacco leaves.

The fecundity, developmental time, egg-to-adult survival rate, and adult body weight of the L. serricorne is heavily influenced by their food source.

When infesting spices, cayenne pepper and paprika are the most favorable food sources to produce the highest body weights and longest life spans in L.

[12] However, current research suggests that nicotine can pass unmetabolized through cigarette beetles without causing significant damage.

It’s been suggested that the microbes in L. serricorne’s gut have contributed to their ability to pass nicotine unmetabolized and harmlessly though their digestive systems.

It can be concluded that generally cigarette beetles have a preference for tobacco types with the highest sugar content and lowest nicotine percentage.

[7] Part of L. serricorne’s ability to recognize the difference between food and non-food substrate and which would in turn make the best oviposition location is through odor.

During oviposition, the female beetle will lay between 10 and 100 eggs in the evening or night directly on top of dried food material.

[20] In total, L. serricorne larva will typically undergo four growth periods before pupation, although this depends on the temperature they are reared in.

[21]Adult L. serricorne will stay in the pupal stage for 4–6 days before they emerge fully sexually matured and colored.

Adults typically live for 2–7 weeks but several factors influence their longevity, such as mating status and larval food substrate.

Moniezella Augusta is another predator of the beetle and is a type of predatory mite which kills and eats L. serricome in the larval and pupal stage.

Other predators that occasionally feed on L. serricorne include Chaeotospila elegans and two beetles called Tenebroides mauritanicus and Pediculoides ventricosus.

[25]Female cigarette beetles produce a sex pheromone that incites a strong attraction in their male counterparts that excites them to mate.

[26] Responsiveness to serricornin increases with the age of unmated males, reaching maximum attractiveness in the fourth week of adult life.

[25] After receiving a serricornin signal and experiencing an attraction to the female, a male will lower its head and vibrate their antennae, extending their forelegs, and quickly walk around.

The male genitalia can cause damage to the female's reproductive tract with the spines it bears or by the toxic elements in their ejaculate.

[29] The yeast cells assist in the digestion of less nutritious foods, supply needed B-vitamins and sterols, and provide resistance to certain toxins.

[30][31] The diversity of the cigarette beetle's diet and ability to survive on foods of poor nutritional quality is due largely to this symbiotic relationship.

Here, the yeast produces a variety of B-vitamins that are required to sustain life but may not be provided by the beetle's diet.

[33] Infestation can range from the tobacco cultivated in the fields to the leaves used for manufacturing cigars, cigarillos, cigarettes, etc.

One, the beetles cause product weight loss due to the amount of raw material actually consumed by the pests.

Lasioderma serricorne has been known in rare cases to be associated with an infection called canthariasis, which is a human insectal disease caused by either the adult beetle or their larvae.