Insect population dynamics in commercial grain elevators

Abstract

Data were collected in 1998–2002 from wheat stored in commercial grain elevators in south-central Kansas. Bins at these elevators had concrete walls and were typically 6–9 m in diameter and 30–35 m tall. A vacuum-probe sampler was used to collect grain samples in the top 12 m of the wheat in each bin. The primary insect species found in the wheat samples were: Cryptolestes ferrugineus, Rhyzopertha dominica, and Tribolium castaneum. In the top 3.7 m of grain, R. dominica, C. ferrugineus, T. castaneum and Sitophilus oryzae made up 44, 36, 19 and 1% of the insects found in the samples, respectively. From 3.8 to 12.2 m, R. dominica, C. ferrugineus, T. castaneum and S. oryzae were present at 84, 8, 8, and 1%, respectively. The most prevalent species also changed over time. In June, the start of wheat harvesting and storage in Kansas, insect density was low in the bins. At this time, C. ferrugineus was the most common insect, and it was found mostly in the top grain sample (0–1.2 m). In September through November, C. ferrugineus and R. dominica were at similar densities; however, from February to March, R. dominica was more common. Generally, insect density was greatest at the top and decreased with grain depth. Very few insects were found in samples collected from greater than 12 m (most of the bins contained grain to depths of 24–36 m). Insect density for all species increased rapidly from June through October. During this period less than 20% of the bins had economically significant insect densities (>2 insects/kg). From October until February, the average insect density remained fairly constant but it was greatly reduced in April, May, and June. Bins that had insect densities >2 insects/kg tended to be located adjacent to other heavily infested bins.