Skip to main content
ARS Home » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #134327
Title: STORED-PRODUCT INSECTS IN KANSAS RETAIL PET STORES

Author
item ROESLI, RENNIE - KANSAS STATE UNIV
item SUBRAMANYAM, BHADRIRAJU - KANSAS STATE UNIV
item Campbell, James - Jim
item KEMP, KIM - RALSTON PURINA CO

Submitted to: Journal of Economic Entomology
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/17/2003
Publication Date: 12/31/2003
Citation: ROESLI, R., SUBRAMANYAM, B., CAMPBELL, J.F., KEMP, K. STORED-PRODUCT INSECTS IN KANSAS RETAIL PET STORES. JOURNAL OF ECONOMIC ENTOMOLOGY 96: 1958-1966. 2003.

Interpretive Summary: Stored product insect pests can cause significant amounts of damage to stored food in retail stores, but little information on pest numbers and distribution is available for this type of environment. In this study, eight Kansas retail pet stores were surveyed between February and August 2001 to determine the types and numbers of stored-product insects present, and to identify areas of the stores that consistently had high numbers of insects. Insects were monitored using food- and pheromone-baited pitfall traps for beetles and pheromone-baited sticky traps for moths. We found that there was considerable variation among stores in the number of insects recovered, but that all stores were infested with stored product pest species. Thirty-six insect species belonging to 23 families and 7 orders were recorded from the eight stores. Insect activity in stores was generally concentrated near shelves of wild bird seeds, shelves of small animal foods, food bar display tables, and stock rooms. The high abundance of stored-product insects and their concentration in certain areas of stores appears to be due to poor sanitary conditions (e.g., accumulation of food spillage under shelves) and lack of effective pest management programs (e.g., infested packages remaining on shelves, poor rotation of bulk food materials.

Technical Abstract: Eight Kansas retail stores belonging to a pet store chain were surveyed during February to August 2001 to determine types and numbers of stored-product insects present, and to identify potential infestation foci. Insects were monitored at 1 to 3 wk intervals using food- and pheromone-baited pitfall traps for beetles and pheromone-baited sticky traps for moths. Thirty traps of each type were placed in a grid fashion within each store. Spatial analysis of trap catch distributions was used to locate infestation foci. Pet food products near the infestation foci were bagged and insects in them enumerated in the laboratory. Thirty-six insect species belonging to 23 families and 7 orders were recorded from the eight stores. The weevils, Sitophilus sp., Indianmeal moth, Plodia interpunctella (Hubner), and the merchant grain beetle, Oryzaephilus mercator (Fauvel) were the most common and abundant species in all stores, whereas red-legged ham beetle, Necrobia rufipes (Degeer), and red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) were abundant only in one store. Insect abundance varied among stores. Mean pitfall trap catches for beetles ranged from 1.0 to 23.6 adults/trap/wk and from 0.1 to 2.0 larvae/trap/wk. Mean trap catches of P. interpunctella males ranged from 0.7 to 4.0 moths/trap/wk. Insect activity in stores was generally concentrated near shelves of wild bird seeds, shelves of small animal foods, food bar display tables, and stock rooms. All sampled pet food products had insects, and the density ranged from 2 to 2,270 insects/kg. Poor sanitary conditions and lack of effective pest management programs explains the presence, abundance, and distribution of stored-product insects found in these stores.