Don Silhacek, Mentor

Examining the diet cups for eggs laid by Plodia moths infesting a mini warehouse. Akers is seen here in a room during "octron gold guard" lighting conditions.

Akers Pence spent the summer examining the effects of various unusual lighting conditions on the reproduction of Indianmeal moths, Plodia interpunctella, in simulated food storage warehouses. Data were analyzed using the Surfer computer program.

Standing in the warehouse under conditions known as "full red treatment."

Akers' Abstract:

Investigating the Effects of Colored Light and Photoperiod on Movement and Reproductive Success of Plodia interpunctella, Indianmeal Moth

Movement of adult moths within a miniature warehouse was recorded at four and eight hour intervals. Plots of these data were used to compare the effects of different wavelengths, light intensities, and photoperiods in twenty-two experiments. Reproductive success of Plodia interpunctella was measured by counting progeny from eggs laid in commodity cups in each treatment. Our object is to create a hostile environment that will limit moth infestation of commodities stored in commercial warehouses. The most promising results were from treatments with amber or green light, which show significant reductions in progeny per moth.