Re-evaluation of warehouse beetle trapping program using molecular markers

22 - 24 September 2009

The warehouse beetle Trogoderma variabile (Coleoptera: Dermestidae) is an internationally significant pest of grain storage structures, packed goods and stored grain. It was first documented in Australia at Griffith, New South Wales in 1977 and later, on the other side of the continent in Western Australia. In 2002 a national trapping program concluded that the number of sites with T. variabile had more than doubled since 1992 in some Australian states, indicating a significant spread of the pest. T. variable was identified using morphological methods at 66 (42%) of the sites sampled. Phylogenetic analysis using mitochondrial genes Cytochrome oxidase I and Cytochrome B, and the nuclear gene 18S reveal seven native species of Dermestidae had been misidentified. The study is part of a research project into the Trogoderma group of stored grain pests and includes the Khapra beetle, Trogoderma granarium, which is not present in Australia and is regarded as one of the highest risk exotic pests to the Australian grains industry. Studies on warehouse beetle will provide valuable information for development of diagnostic tests for Khapra beetle and how it might spread if it became established in Australia.