The cigarette beetle infests dried tobacco, flours, dry mixes, dried fruits such as dates and raisins, cereals, cocoa, coffee beans, herbs, spices, nuts, rice, dog food and many other products. It is worldwide in distribution.

Adult cigarette beetles measure about 2 to 3 mm in length and are reddish brown. They have a rounded, oval shape and the head is often concealed when the beetle is viewed from above. The elytra (wing covers) are covered with fine hairs. Adults do not feed. Cigarette beetles look almost identical to drugstore beetles but can be distinguished by two easily identifiable characters: the antennae of the cigarette beetle are serrated (like the teeth on a saw) while the antennae of the drugstore beetle are not and end in a 3-segmented club. The other difference is that drugstore beetle elytra have rows of pits giving them a striated (lined) appearance, while those of the cigarette beetle are smooth.

The cigarette beetle life cycle is highly dependent on temperature and the food source, but usually takes 40 to 90 days. Females lay 10 to 100 eggs in the food and the larvae emerge in six to 10 days. Older larvae are white, scarab-like, and hairy. The mature larvae excavate a protective cell in the feeding substrate or build a protective cocoon from bits of food and debris. In warmer climates there may be five or six overlapping generations per year.

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