Monitoring of stored product insects and decision support systems at the post-harvest stages of durable agricultural commodities: A review

Authors: ATHANASSIOU, CHRISTOS - University Of Thessaly; Morrison Iii, William; STEJSKAL, VACLAV - Crop Research Institute - Czech Republic; RIUDAVETS, JORDI - Institute Of Agrifood Research And Technology

Submitted to: Entomologia Generalis
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 4/14/2025
Publication Date: 10/20/2025
Citation: Athanassiou, C.G., Morrison Iii, W.R., Stejskal, V., Riudavets, J. 2025. Monitoring of stored product insects and decision support systems at the post-harvest stages of durable agricultural commodities: A review. Entomologia Generalis. Vol. 45 (2025), Issue 4, 991–1015. https://doi.org/10.1127/entomologia/2915.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1127/entomologia/2915

Interpretive Summary: Cereals, pulses, dried fruits and other durable agricultural commodities are stored, usually for long periods, before being processed further for consumption. During storage they are frequently attacked by a range of insect pests causing significant losses and reductions in nutritional quality. A key component at food facilities is monitoring for stored product insects with traps and other detection tools, because failure to control insect infestations in the field and warehouses can lead to extensive contamination of stored grain. Here, we review detection methods that have been developed during the last 25 years and discuss how tools are able to provide both increased detection sensitivity and specificity, and discuss today’s increased interpretability of trap data. Traps and many other detection methods rely on volatiles, like pheromones and food, to attract insects. However, we discuss how climate change will affect the efficacy of monitoring tools that rely on volatiles in the coming century, namely through stability, dispersion, perception of cues, and behavioral response. We also synthesize major achievements in monitoring research, and compile all known pheromones from the literature for stored product insects, for which there are known compounds from 65 species from 16 families. Overall, this further work supports these detection tools as decision-support tools in food facilities in long-term monitoring programs.

Technical Abstract: Cereals, pulses, dried fruits and other durable agricultural commodities are stored, usually for long periods, before being processed further for consumption. During storage they are frequently attacked by a range of insect pests causing significant quantitative and qualitative losses. In this context, conventional insecticides still remain the dominant pest-management approach for stored product insects. Failure to control insect infestations in the field, as well as in the warehouses themselves, can lead to extensive contamination of stored grain. Hence, the importance of establishing strategies for early diagnosis, that is also aligned with the internationally established regulatory and phytosanitary framework, and meets industrial demands is an absolute priority. Current insect monitoring methods at the post-harvest stages of durable agricultural commodities, despite their incontestable advantages, meet with several drawbacks, such as reduced detection sensitivity and increased cost, as well as the capacity for multi-species detection, a parameter that is not always desirable. Newer methods that have been developed during the last two decades, are able to provide both increased detection sensitivity and specificity, and the ability to interpret detection data, to further utilize them in decision-support tools. This review covers the current developments towards improved insect detection and estimation of their population, given that there is no updated review on the subject during the last 25 years.