Trapping of internal and external feeding stored grain beetle pests with two types of pitfall traps: A two-year field study

Abstract

Pitfall trapping studies are available for particular stored grain pest species. In small farms, the stored grain pest control strategy is rarely species-specific but is often “pest ecological-group-specific” instead. A two-year field study was conducted in flat grain stores to compare the efficacy of cone-surface (PC trap; AgriSense-BCS Ltd., Pontypridd, UK) and probe-subsurface (WB Probe II Trap; Trécé Inc., Adair, USA) traps for three ecological insect pest groups (Group I, internal feeding primary pests; Group II, external feeding primary pests; Group III, external feeding secondary pests). Altogether, 1328 specimens (32% Group I, 11% Group II, and 57% Group III) in 12 species of Coleoptera (17% Group I, 25% Group II, and 58% Group III) were trapped. No significant differences were found in the efficacy of PC traps and WB Probe II Traps to catch the evaluated ecological pest groups over the long term. Our study indicated that for trends to appear in long-term trapping there was no need for the simultaneous use of both traps due to the low trapping differences between the surface and subsurface types of traps in all ecological pest groups. However, significant differences between the traps were found in the short-term evaluations and before and after fumigation; in that case, the use of both traps is recommended because of the higher sensitivity and more precise evaluation of efficacy of the control treatment effects.