Attractiveness of an Aggregation Pheromone Lure and Chicken Droppings to Adults and Larvae of Alphitobius diaperinus (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae)

Singh, N.; Johnson, D. T.

The lesser mealworm, Alphitobius diaperinus (Panzer) (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae), is a serious, cosmopolitan pest present in poultry production facilities, where it consumes poultry feed and litter, and causes decreased weight gains in broiler chicks that eat these beetles (Despins and Axtell 1995) . These beetles also transmit several disease agents such as avian inßuenza, MarekÕs disease, Coronavirus, the Newcastle disease virus (De las Casas et al. 1973 , 1976 , Salmonella typhimurium (McAllister et al. 1994) , Campylobacter jejuni (Strother et al. 2005) , infectious bursal disease (McAllister et al. 1995) , and also cause damage to poultry insulation by tunneling (Despins et al. 1987) . Control of lesser mealworm adults and larvae is mainly through use of contact insecticides, which has resulted in insecticide-resistant strains (Lambkin 2005) . Because of environmental and resistance concerns related to the use of conventional insecticides, research needs to be focused toward other alternative tactics such as attractants, pheromones, kairomones, and other behavior-modifying chemicals.