Stored-Product Insects Associated with a Retail Pet Store Chain in Kansas

Abstract

The types and numbers of insect species associated with eight Kansas retail stores belonging to a pet store chain were surveyed during February to August 2001. Insects were monitored at 1-3-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 within a store. Thirty insect species belonging to 20 families in four orders were recorded from the eight stores. The weevils, Sitophilus spp.; Indianmeal moth, Plodia interpunctella (Hübner); and merchant grain beetle, Oryzaephilus mercator (Fauvel), were the most common and abundant species in all stores, whereas the red-legged ham beetle, Necrobia rufipes (Degeer), and red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum (Herbst), were abundant only in one store. The numbers of each insect species captured varied from store to store. In each of the stores, a total of 12-19 stored-product species were captured in traps, and seven of the eight stores had relatively high species diversity. With the exception of one store, the different types of insect species found among the remaining seven stores were essentially similar. The mean density of insects in infested bulk-stored and bagged pet food products removed from a store ranged from 65 to 656 adults/kg. The types and numbers of insect species captured in traps indicated that infestations were well established in the surveyed stores. Early detection and management of these infestations is critical for maintaining quality and integrity of food products sold in the pet stores.