July 1999 Biological Control Prevents High Insect Fragment Counts in Flour.
Biological control is an important component of integrated pest management of stored grain.
There are several species of parasitic wasps that attack most of the insect pests of stored grain. Because the adult wasps are external to the grain kernels, they can easily be removed using normal cleaning processes. In this study, we wanted to find out if using these wasps to control insect infestation levels in grain would increase or decrease the level of insect fragments found in flour milled from this grain. Six 1000- bushel bins filled with wheat were used for the study. Lesser grain borer adults were released into all six bins and wasps were released into three of the bins.