Technical Abstract: Farmers, grain elevator managers, and food processors often sample grain for insect damaged kernels and numbers of live adult insects but these easily obtained measurements of insect levels do not provide reliable estimates of the typically much larger populations of internally feeding immature insects. Scientists at the USDA-ARS Center for Medical, Agricultural and Veterinary Entomology, Gainesville, Florida, argue that if stored products were transparent, sampling of this much larger immature population could enable better estimates of total population levels, earlier detection of internal insect infestations, and improved forecasting of when to aerate, fumigate, or sell for optimum profitability. Retail store managers could better focus on where and when to conduct sanitation efforts and remove infested stock or spillage. Used carefully, acoustic devices provide a measure of “transparency” and enhance inspection of many stored products that otherwise could not be monitored inexpensively without destructive sampling. In addition, acoustic methods can be adapted for automated, continuous monitoring, increasing the likelihood of detecting infestations before they cause economic damage. Such capability can be of benefit to pest managers, regulators, and researchers. New acoustic devices and signal processing methods have been developed in the last few years that greatly increase the reliability and efficacy of insect pest detection.