Managing stored-product insects by heating ambient air of food-processing facilities to 50-60oC is a viable alternative to methyl bromide fumigation. The objective of our work was to characterize time-mortality relationships for the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) eggs, younger larvae, older larvae, pupae, and adults at fixed temperatures under laboratory conditions. Time-mortality data were used to develop a heat accumulation model based on probit analysis for predicting insect mortality. The base temperature for accumulating heat units (degree-minutes) was determined iteratively. The degree-minute model was validated using independent data collected on all T. castaneum life stages during heat treatment of a pilot flour mill at Kansas State University. The assumptions and limitations of the model will be discussed.
Species 1: Coleoptera Tenebrionidae Tribolium castaneum (Red flour beetle)
Keywords: Methyl bromide alternative, Heat
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