Direct competition and potential displacement involving managed Trogoderma stored product pests

The establishment of an exotic pest may require displacing local species with a similar niche. The potential of Trogoderma granarium to displace Trogoderma inclusum was explored in a stored product setting. We performed direct competition experiments varying commodity and temperature over different durations. At nine weeks T. inclusum outproduced T. granarium on all commodities at any temperature. However the proportion of T. granarium versus T. inclusum was greater at 32 °C compared to 25 °C. The nine-week production of T. granarium was best on wheat, while rice was optimal for T. inclusum. After 25 weeks, when adults were used at the start of competition, T. inclusum maintained an advantage in the direct competition. If larvae were used to initiate the competition for 25 weeks, the two species coexisted well at 25 °C, but T. granarium nearly excluded T. inclusum at 32 °C. Thus T. inclusum performs better in competition over shorter intervals when resources are plentiful, but T. granarium can be more successful over longer time periods, particularly when late instar larvae are involved. The finding suggests a real threat of introductions of T. granarium larvae to establish populations within grain storage infrastructure where T. inclusum is common.