Beetles grain/flour

Currently there are few insecticides registered as surface treatments to control stored-product insects. For years the organophosphate insecticide malathion was used as a surface treatment for structural facilities, but stored-product insects throughout the world have developed extensive resistance to malathion (Subramanyam and Hagstrum, 1996). Most of the resistance reports were generated from studies with bulk grains, but in the United States, resistance has been documented for field populations of the red flour beetle, T. castaneum (Herbst), and the confused flour beetle, T. confusum (DuVal), collected from flour mills (Arthur and Zettler, 1991, 1992 Zettler, 1991). Populations of the Indianmeal moth, the almond moth, and the red flour beetle collected from bulk peanuts and empty warehouses were also highly resistant to malathion (Arthur et al., 1988 Halliday et al., 1988). 

Toxicant T, caslaneum (flour beetle) Pyrcthrin-resistant 5. granariui (grain weevil) ... 

Insect pest infestation causes losses in quantity and quality of food commodities and changes in chemical composition, affecting the nutritive value of the produce (Howe, 1965 Scott, 1991 Swaminathan, 1977). Insect activity also leads to contamination of the produce (Table II). The flour beetles (Tribolium spp.) contaminate foodstuffs with their secretions, which contain 2-ethyl 1,4-benzoquinone and 2-methyl-1,4-benzoquinone. T. castaneum quinone secretions not only impart off-odors to food commodities but are also considered to cause liver and spleen tumors in mice (El-Mofty et al., 1992). However, Hodges et al. (1996) demonstrated that unlike in wheat flour, the accumulation of quinone secretions of T. castaneum adults in rice was negligible at less than 1 ppm, and hence, they claimed that T. castaneum infestation in rice is not likely to be a health risk. Males of R. dominica secrete aggregation pheromones (dominicalures) that contribute to the characteristic sweetish or musty odor in grain infested with R. dominica (Khorramshahi and Burkholder, 1981). However, Seitz and Sauer (1996)... 

Tropical warehouse moth Red legged ham beetle Merchant grain beetle Saw-toothed grain beetle Flour beetles Khapra beetle... 

Why is it important to recognize the specific type of insect that is infesting stored grains How can you differentiate a red flour beetle from a confused beetle ... 

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