Conversely, the confused flour beetle, initially from Africa, exhibits a broader global distribution and favors cooler climates which makes it more prevalent in the northern states.

Damage to food is caused somewhat by the beetles' feeding, but also by their dead bodies, fecal pellets, and foul-smelling secretions.

[8] The confused flour beetle is typically found in mills, bakeries, and warehouses, feeding on cereal grains.

The beetle has developed genetic variability due to differential use of insecticides and different environments, making it difficult to kill.

These findings are important because the feeding behavior has high economic costs, and the beetle produces secretions that can cause skin irritation and respiratory disorders.

[11] Cannibalistic pathways in the confused flour beetle are important for affecting survival of different population life stages.

[12] Cannibalism has extreme effects on population size largely due to genetic and environmental factors.

Higher rates of cannibalism tend to occur in environments with low nutritional value and high stress.

Low-cannibalism and high-cannibalism behaviors show distinct genetic variability between different strains, and cannibalism in the confused flour beetle is a polygenic trait that is autosomally inherited.

A study has shown that the parasitoid is not attracted to uninfested grain storages, but rather to the majority of life stages of the flour beetle.

Among these, the anthocorid predatory bug Xylocoris falvipes, parasitic wasps such as Holepyris sylvanidis, and a range of pathogens, including bacteria, fungi, and protozoa, are recognized for their ability to inflict harm upon these beetles.

Females have the ability to reject spermatophore transfer if they decide that the male has a low quality phenotype, but there is also evidence that suggests males practice leg-rubbing mechanisms during copulation to counter female spermatophore rejection.

The evolution of kin selection may have been maintained to reduce levels of inbreeding and cannibalism, thus increasing individual fitness.

The Wolbachia bacteria can display either mutualistic or parasitic behaviors depending on the species it infects, but for the confused flour beetle, it exhibits mutualism.

[18] Heat stress also did not have an effect on mate choice, as the sex ratio did not change between the optimal temperature and heat-stressed conditions.

This leads to increased mating opportunities, and this in addition to cytoplasmic incompatibility cause faster spread of the bacteria.

In cases of uninfected females mating with infected males, this results in complete incompatibility, where no progeny can be observed from this cross.

Infested grain can be treated by storing in a freezer for four or five days, as beetles cannot survive longer than this in such cold conditions.

[6] It has also been shown that insecticides such as spinosad and Beauveria bassiana, which is fungal based, can be used to manage flour beetle populations.

Other insecticides such as aluminum phosphide do induce mortality, but they have significant consequences affecting humans and are costly.

Spinosad and Beauveria bassiana experience varying mortality rates with different conditions, primarily temperature variation.