Comparing effectiveness of three Tribolium castaneum monitoring traps

Insect traps are used for detecting and monitoring Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), the red flour beetle, which is a major pest of grain processing and storage facilities. The goal of our study was to compare the effectiveness of three types of T. castaneum monitoring traps, namely, ClimbUp^®, Dome™, and Torios^®. Three experimental sheds (2.5 m x 3 m) located at the Stored Product Research and Education Center (SPREC), Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK were used. We compared the trap catches of the ClimbUp^® trap, which is a new kind of trap, with two commercially available T. castaneum monitoring traps, namely, the Dome™ trap and the Torios^® trap. The ClimbUp^® trap uses only corn oil as kairomone, the Dome™ trap uses kairomone and pheromone lure, and the Torios^® trap uses a pheromone lure and a sticky surface. The experiment had a 3 x 3 Latin square design with three replications. For each replication, one type of trap was placed in each experimental shed containing 200 adult beetles. After 1 wk the numbers of beetles in traps were counted. Based on our data, there were no significant differences in the numbers of T. castaneum caught in the ClimbUp^®, Dome™, or Torios^® traps. Implications of these data for T. castaneum monitoring in grain processing and storage facilities are discussed. 

 Keywords: Red flour beetle, ClimbUp^® trap, Dome™ trap, Torios^® trap