Monitoring stored-product pests in food processing plants with pheromone trapping, contour mapping, and mark-recapture

Distribution and movement patterns of several species of stored-product pests in a food processing plant were investigated. The objectives of this study were to determine the temporal and spatial variation in abundance of stored-product pests using pheromone traps; assess the effectiveness of trap type, location, and number on monitoring insect populations; and to evaluate the nature of pheromone trap capture hot spots by measuring patterns of insect movement. We determined that the distributions of Trogoderma variabile Ballion, Lasioderma serricorne (F.), Tribolium castaneum (Herbst), and Plodia interpunctella (Hubner) within the facility were typically clumped and that foci of high trap captures, based on visual observation of contour maps, varied among species and over time. Trap type and location influenced the number of T variabile captured: traps on the floor and along walls captured more individuals than hanging traps and traps next to support pillars. T variabile was the predominant insect pest at this facility and from mark-recapture studies, we found that individual beetles moved across multiple floors in the facility and from 7 to 216 in though the warehouse.