Contamination of Tribolium castaneum Herbst in stored corn whole meal

Abstract

Loss caused by the red flour beetle; Tribolium castaneum Herbst, in stored corn whole meal under controlled temperature (28 ± 2°C) and relative humidity (73%) was evaluated during three months. Dry matter consumption was established for each active biological stage and population development of specie. Larval and adults stages of T castaneum consumption 2.76 and 0.59 mg respectively. At 90 days storage the specie T.castaneum obtained a population density of 534 individuals and caused a weight loss of 31.3%.