Effects of High Temperatures on the Mortality of Stegobium paniceum (L.) (Coleoptera: Anobiidae).

As an alternative to chemical fumigants, heat treatment has been a widely used physical method to successfully control stored-product insects in empty grain storage and food processing facilities. The drugstore beetle, Stegobium paniceum (L.) (Coleoptera: Anobiidae) is one of the most destructive stored-product insects in the world. The mortality of the eggs, larvae, pupae, and adults of S. paniceum was investigated when exposed to 43, 47, 51, and 55°C for different time intervals. The mortality rate of the S. paniceum eggs, larvae, pupae, and adults was found to significantly increase with increased exposure time and temperature, and the pupae were the most heat-tolerant stage. The mortality rate of the S. paniceum pupae was <43.3%, while the mortality rate of the S. paniceum eggs, larvae, and adults achieved nearly 100.0% when they were exposed to 43, 47, 51, and 55°C for 6 h, 17.5 min, 120 s, and 30 s, respectively. The current results favor designing a heat treatment protocol to successfully disinfest S. paniceum in practice.