ARS | Publication request: Behavior, biology and ecology of stored fruit and nut insects

Submitted to: Book Chapter
Publication Type: Book / Chapter
Publication Acceptance Date: August 24, 2011
Publication Date: September 28, 2012
Citation: Burks, C.S., Johnson, J.A. 2012. Behavior, biology and ecology of stored fruit and nut insects. In G.W. Cuperus D.W. Hagstrum and T.W. Phillips (eds.). Stored Product Protection. Publication S156. Kansas State University, Manhattan, Kansas. p. 21-32.

Technical Abstract: Tree nuts and dried fruits vary widely in their quality as hosts for insect pests, but stored product pests can cause economic loss even in commodities that are generally poor hosts. Economic damage can be due to commodity consumed, but the very presence of insect body parts, frass, or webbing can cause expensive rejections and loss of market at the wholesale level due to either quality concerns or phytosanitary regulation. Most USDA quality standards for dried fruits and nuts do not allow for any live insects. Stored product pests of dried fruits and nuts can be characterized (with some qualifications) in two categories: orchard pests which infest principally in the orchard and do not reproduce in storage, but which nonetheless affect marketability of dried fruits and nuts; and pests which infest and reproduce in storage. In this chapter, the biology of selected pests of dried fruits and nuts in storage are presented. Descriptions of the species are presented in three groups. The first group includes three moths—the codling moth, navel orangeworm, and the carob moth—which are predominantly field pests infesting the marketable fruit or nut. The second group includes non-lepidopteran pests—the driedfruit beetle and vinegar flies—that infest predominantly in the field. Unlike the moth pests, the driedfruit beetle and the vinegar flies feed as adults. The third group includes the Indianmeal moth, almond moth, tobacco moth, and the raisin moth. These last four moths are predominantly storage pests; they also respond to the same principal pheromone component, and therefore they might be found in the same pheromone trap. Except for the codling moth, each of the moths in this chapter is of the subfamily Phycitinae.