Evaluation of the difference in the development of stored insect pests on organic litter

On July 2017 in a warehouse of pet food shop in Italy an infestation of Oryzaephilus surinamensis was found on a pallet of organic litter, near an infested pallet of dog’s pasta. In order to investigate the origin of the infestation, and to support the risk assessment by the pest control operator, one test was conducted at Agroblu Laboratory of Applied Entomology (LEAA) to observe the feasibility of development of O. surinamensis, Plodia interpunctella and Tribolium confusum, in a substrate of 2,5 g of organic litter and to compare it to a balanced diet substrate. The results showed that only T. confusum was able to develop with no statistical difference both on the breeding diet and the organic litter.