Survey of Insect Pests in Shelled Corn Stored On-Farm in Kentucky

Abstract

Shelled corn stored in metal bins was sampled for insects on farms in the three westernmost crop reporting districts of Kentucky during 1989 and 1990 to identify pest insects present, determine the relative abundance of insect pests, and determine their geographic distributions. Thirty-six species or species groups were found in this survey. The most abundant insects were maize weevil, Sitophilus zeamais Motschulsky; Angoumois grain moth, Sitotroga cerealella (Olivier); flat grain, rusty grain, and flour mill beetles, Cryptolestes spp.; sawtoothed grain beetle, Oryzaephilus surinamensis (L.); foreign grain beetle, Ahasverus advena (Waltl); red and confused flour beetles, Tribolium spp.; and hairy fungus beetle, Typhaea stercorea (L.). Greater densities and numbers of species were caught later during the storage season and greater numbers were captured from the center versus edges of bins. The unexpectedly high abundance and widespread distribution of maize weevil and Angoumois grain moth suggests that greater care needs to be taken to manage these pests because of direct feeding damage and the resulting increased susceptibility of grain to secondary insect pests (e.g., Cryptolestes spp., sawtoothed grain beetle, Tribolium spp., foreign grain beetle, and hairy fungus beetle, which were commonly found) and fungi.