Fecundity of Tribolium castaneum and Tribolium confusum adults after exposure to deltamethrin packaging

Abstract

The red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum (Herbst), and the confused flour beetle, Tribolium confusum Jacquelin du Val, are capable of exploiting any rip, tear, or defect in packaged food and infest the contents. Incorporating packaging materials with insecticides is a novel technological approach that is gaining interest as a preventative measure to deter packaging infestations. The objective of this experiment was to determine the effect of deltamethrin-incorporated packaging on T. castaneum and T. confusum adult fecundity. Treatment arenas consisted of deltamethrin-incorporated packaging secured to ~ 62 cm2 plastic Petri dishes. Ten male or female adults of either species were exposed on treated or untreated packaging for time intervals ranging from 0.67 to 168 h. Males and females were then cross-mated: One exposed male paired with one exposed female; exposed male with unexposed female; unexposed male with exposed female; and unexposed male with unexposed female. Pairs were held in a 7-dram vial for 7 days, removed, and vials held for emergence of F 1 adults. There were no progeny when mating pairs of T. castaneum male were exposed for ≥ 48 h, while 168 h of exposure was necessary to prevent progeny production of T. confusum mated pairs. T. castaneum was more susceptible compared to T. confusum. This study showed adult beetles are capable of recovering from knockdown and produce progeny, but long-term exposure to treated material inhibited the F 1 generation. Integrating deltamethrin-incorporated packaging material into an existing integrated pest management program could provide additional protection of packaged food products.