CreatureData

Lesser mealworm

Alphitobius diaperinus (Panzer, 1797)

Status not recordedbeetles

The lesser mealworm (Alphitobius diaperinus) is a species in the family Tenebrionidae, order Coleoptera.

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Quick facts about the lesser mealworm

Weight
Not recorded
Length
Not recorded
Lifespan
Not recorded
Main food
Not recorded
Habitat
Not recorded
Young per litter or clutch
Not recorded
Conservation status
Not recorded
Countries on record
Not recorded

Where does the lesser mealworm live?

Not recorded

Where has it been introduced?

The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species lists the lesser mealworm as introduced in 15 countries, and flagged as invasive in 2 of them.

  1. Latviainvasive
  2. Lithuaniainvasive
  3. Austria
  4. Canary Islands
  5. Cyprus
  6. Denmark
  7. Estonia
  8. France
  9. Ireland
  10. Japan
  11. Poland
  12. South Africa
  13. Sweden
  14. United Kingdom
  15. United States

Introduced means brought by people and now present; invasive means the country's checklist records an impact. A species can be native to one part of a country and introduced in another. Source: Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species (CC BY 4.0).

Is the lesser mealworm endangered?

No conservation assessment is recorded for this species in our sources. That is not the same as being safe: it has not been matched to an assessment.

How is the lesser mealworm classified?

  1. kingdomAnimalia
  2. phylumArthropoda
  3. classInsecta
  4. orderColeoptera
  5. familyTenebrionidae
  6. genusAlphitobius
  7. SpeciesAlphitobius diaperinus (Panzer, 1797)

Synonyms Cryptops ulomoides, Phaleria rufipes, Tenebrio diaperinus, Tenebrio ovatus, Uloma opatroides

Other names and names in other languages (23)
  • Lesser mealworm beetleEnglish
  • potemník stájovýCzech
  • HønseribilleDanish
  • Glänzendschwarzer GetreideschimmelkäferGerman
  • kanatunkkariFinnish
  • ténébrion (petit) matFrench
  • DritbjallaIcelandic
  • ガイマイゴミムシダマシJapanese
  • 외미거저리Korean
  • Malūninis juodvabalisLithuanian
  • TempexkeverDutch
  • Pleśniakowiec lśniącyPolish
  • Хрущак вонючийRussian
  • ด้วงขี้ไก่Thai
  • 小粉虫Chinese
  • Lille melbilleDanish
  • GetreideschimmelkäferGerman
  • PiepschuimkeverDutch
  • 外米擬步行蟲Chinese
  • 暗黑菌虫Chinese
  • 黑粉甲Chinese
  • 黑粉虫Chinese
  • 黑菌虫Chinese

Catalogue of Life

Relatives of the lesser mealworm

Other species in the same genus Alphitobius.

CompareLesser mealworm vs Black fungus beetleLesser mealworm vs Alphitobius acutangulusLesser mealworm vs Alphitobius arnoldiLesser mealworm vs Alphitobius capitaneus

Common questions

Answered only where our data holds the answer.

Is the lesser mealworm an invasive species?

In some places. The Global Register of Introduced and Invasive Species flags the lesser mealworm as invasive in 2 countries: Latvia and Lithuania. It lists it as introduced in 15 in all.

What kind of animal is the lesser mealworm?

The lesser mealworm (Alphitobius diaperinus) belongs to the family Tenebrionidae in the order Coleoptera.

Sources and how to cite this page

Data as of 2026-11-13. How this page is put together.

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APA

CreatureData. (2026). Lesser mealworm (Alphitobius diaperinus). Retrieved from https://creaturedata.com/animals/lesser-mealworm

MLA

“Lesser mealworm (Alphitobius diaperinus).” CreatureData, 2026, https://creaturedata.com/animals/lesser-mealworm.

BibTeX
@misc{lesser_mealworm_2026,
  title = {Lesser mealworm (Alphitobius diaperinus)},
  author = {{CreatureData}},
  year = {2026},
  url = {https://creaturedata.com/animals/lesser-mealworm},
  note = {Data as of 2026-11-13}
}