Nicobium castaneum (Oliv.) is one of the most important wood and book worms of the Mediterranean area (eg Portugal) and South Russian. It also occurs in the USA and Japan. A previous paper (Cymorek 1972) left open the question: is Nicobium castaneum one or two species? Nicobium castaneum is currently regarded as forming two varieties or sub-species - sub-specific taxa which are rarely well defined in the Coleoptera. When dealing with an insect of economic relevance, the exact determination of its status is necessary for the best application of control measures. The subject is also of interest for the taxonomy and systematics of the Anobiidae. First cross breeding results lead to the impression that probably a single species was concerned. Trials of the fertility of hybrid populations were planned to test this opinion. Results are given below.

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