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ARS Home » Plains Area » Manhattan, Kansas » Center for Grain and Animal Health Research » Stored Product Insect and Engineering Research » Research » Publications at this Location » Publication #429080
Title: Tribolium flour beetles are strongly attracted to decomposing wood, their putative historical habitat, over flour

Author
item ROSENBERGER, DEREK - Wheaton College
item CHUNG, HANNAH - Wheaton College
item ELSEN, SAM - Wheaton College
item LEYS, CHARLIE - Wheaton College
item PASTOOR, ISABELLE - Wheaton College
item PETNO, JAMES - Wheaton College
item PLANKEEL, LELA - Wheaton College
item Gerken, Alison

Submitted to: Scientific Reports
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 3/18/2026
Publication Date: 4/13/2026
Citation: Rosenberger, D.W., Chung, H., Elsen, S., Leys, C., Pastoor, I., Petno, J., Plankeel, L., Gerken, A.R. 2026. Tribolium flour beetles are strongly attracted to decomposing wood, their putative historical habitat, over flour. Scientific Reports. 16:14642. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-45364-w.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-026-45364-w

Interpretive Summary: Stored product insect pests have infested postharvest commodities since humans began to store cereal grains such as wheat, corn, and rice. However, many species of stored product pests can also be found in other types of habitats, including forested areas, where they live on rotting wood, seeds, or even in nests of forest animals. In addition, the red flour beetle and confused flour beetle, which predominantly feed on flour and stored grain products, have been shown to be attracted to volatile compounds produced by trees. However, it is unknown how strong these attractive responses are and it is also unknown whether they can feed and reproduce on wood from these trees. In this study, we tested attraction of red and confused flour beetles against ground wood from three different species of trees (mulberry, black cherry, and eastern white pine). Both red and confused flour beetles were more strongly attracted to all three species of wood than to wheat flour. However, there was no reproduction on wood from any species and survival was reduced for beetles on wood compared to flour. Identifying specific volatiles in wood that are attractive to flour beetles could serve as a naturally derived pest management tactic to lure insects away from flour mills and grain storage sites to protect valuable agricultural products from economic losses from insect feeding damages. This study also suggests that trees may serve as natural harborages of stored product insects that could reinfest facilities after insecticide treatments, providing focal areas for increased monitoring and treatment efforts.

Technical Abstract: Tribolium castaneum and T. confusum are important stored grain pests, yet little is known about their life history outside the stored grain environment. Like other related Tenebrionidae species, the historical habitat of T. castaneum and T. confusum is thought to be rotting logs, but current affinity and use of logs as habitat is unknown. Attraction to three different species of decomposing wood was assessed for T. castaneum and T. confusum as well as survival and reproduction for T. castaneum on white mulberry wood. The attraction to wood by both Tribolium species was significantly higher than to wheat flour, and female T. castaneum had reduced survivorship and did not oviposit on a decomposing wood substrate. Evidently, attraction to decomposing wood is conserved across these two prominent stored product Triobolium species, yet wood does not fulfill dietary or reproductive requirements for these two pests. Flour, although less than wood, does elicit a slight olfactory response, with significant reproductive capacity, which may contribute to Tribiolium’s ability to utilize this novel anthropogenic resource. This study contributes to an important yet understudied area into the role natural microhabitats may play in supporting these economically important species and the origin of stored grain associations.