Tricorynus herbarius (Gorham) is a potential bibliophagous insect, especially for rare books due to paper constituents of them. There are few studies with regards to the biology of this insect, perhaps because T. herbarius feeds on different resources, being this study an important feature to control the pest. The biological parameters of T. herbarius were studied in two different diets: blotting paper and wheat meal plus yeast extract. Four instars were obtained on both diets. The length of the larval period and adult longevity were shorter while the pupal period was longer when the insects fed on blotting paper. In both diets mortality was high, over 50%. Female fecundity was 3.3 ± 3.93 eggs per female for blotting paper and 12.1 ± 12.61 for wheat meal plus yeast extract. The sex rate was 0.5 for both diets. Wheat meal plus yeast extract is the best diet for rearing the book borer T. herbarius.
Bibliophagous insect; diet; insect control; library
