Redlegged Ham Beetle, Copra Beetle Necrobia rufipes (De Geer, 1775) (Insecta: Coleoptera: Cleridae: Korynetinae)

Abstract

The redlegged ham beetle (Necrobia rufipes) is a predaceous beetle that feeds on a variety of decaying organic matter, especially matter with high protein and fat content such as dead vertebrate animals, and some of plant origin, such as copra, nuts, and palm kernels. The redlegged ham beetle is of economic importance as a pest of stored products and has relevance to forensic entomology. Other common names include the ham beetle, the copra beetle or bug, and the “paper worm.”

Keywords

• Necrobia rufipes
• predaceous insects
• storage pests