Stimulating Lasioderma serricorne (Coleoptera: Ptinidae) oviposition using food extract-treated filter papers

The cigarette beetle (Lasioderma serricorne (F.) (Coleoptera: Ptinidae)) is a common pest in storage facilities and causes significant economic losses due to its ability to infest a wide range of stored products. Collecting eggs laid by this pest on food substrates such as flour can be tedious and time-consuming, particularly when eggs of specific age are required for research purposes in large numbers. The objective of this study was to develop a method for facilitating egg collection. This was explored by stimulating cigarette beetle oviposition on filter papers treated with ethanol extracts of chili, dog food, tobacco, turmeric, and wheat flour over a 5-d period. Female L. serricorne deposited eggs on all food extract-treated filter papers, with turmeric-treated filter papers receiving the highest oviposition rate (4.43 eggs per female). Stereomicroscopic observations revealed that following mating, females deposited eggs individually on the surface of the filter paper. Overall, this study demonstrates that artificial substrates can be used to collect L. serricorne eggs for short-term observation, offering a useful tool for future investigations on reproductive biology, developmental processes, and pest management strategies.