Plodia interpunctella (Hu¨bner), the Indian meal moth, is a worldwide insect pest of stored-products and processed food commodities. It can infest a variety of products and is perhaps the most economically important insect pest of processed food. In this review, we summarize the biology of P. interpunctella, discuss oviposition and development in relation to temperature, environment and food source, examine studies involving sampling and detection, describe various aspects of integrated control, summarize the current knowledge regarding management of P. interpunctella, and address potential areas for new research. The use of reduced-risk insecticides, non-chemical control, targeted pest management through spatial analysis and other means of identifying specific locations of infestations, and computer models that simulate population growth, are examples of some of those new areas of research.
Eggs of the Indianmeal moth, Plodia interpunctella (Hübner), were exposed to the labeled rate of hydroprene (1.9 x 10(-3) mg [AI]/cm2) sprayed on concreted petri dishes. These eggs were exposed for 1, 3, 6, 12, and 18 h and until hatching (continuous exposure) at temperatures of 16, 20, 24, 28, and 32 degrees C and 57% RH until the emergence of first instars. The developmental time and egg mortality were significantly influenced by temperature and exposure periods. At 16 degrees C, hydroprene did not cause differences in developmental time when eggs were exposed for different periods. At temperatures >16 degrees C, both exposure period and temperature influenced developmental time. The maximum developmental time (15.0 +/- 0.2 d) occurred at 16 degrees C, and the minimum developmental time (3.2 +/- 0.3 d) occurred at 32 degrees C. Mortality increased when eggs were exposed to hydroprene for longer periods at all of the five tested temperatures. The greatest mortality (81.6 +/- 2.1%) occurred when eggs were continuously exposed on treated surfaces at 32 degrees C. We used developmental time instead of rate (1/ developmental time) to fit simple linear or polynomial regression models to the development data. Appropriate models for developmental time and mortality were chosen based upon lack-of-fit tests. The regression models can be used in predictive simulation models for the population dynamics of Indianmeal moth to aid in optimizing use of hydroprene for insect management.
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