Patch exploitation by Tribolium castaneum: movement patterns, distribution, and oviposition

Stored-product insects often live in an environment of spatially separated food patches that vary considerably in size, quality, and persistence. The movement of individuals among patches of food influences the probability that stored products will become infested and pest populations will persist within storage facilities, thus affecting many aspects of pest management. We examined how a major stored-product pest, the red flour beetle, Tribolium castaneum (Herbst), exploits patches of food. Individuals are often inactive, periods of inactivity are often outside of food patches, males are more likely to be inactive outside of flour patches than females, and there is considerable variation among individuals in the time spent outside of patches. Beetles outside of food patches tend to be observed near edges due to a tendency to be inactive at edges, to move along edges, and to move more slowly when moving along edges. This tendency to move along edges makes beetles more likely to infest flour patches near the edges than patches further from the edge. A better understanding of the influence of landscape on pest behavior, spatial distribution, and population dynamics is needed to develop effective stored-product pest IPM programs. Published by Elsevier Science Ltd.