A New Nano-Based Detector for the Indian Meal Moth, Both Adult Insects and Larva

The problem of losses due to insect and microbiological pests does not end in the field or with the harvest. The problem persists into the storage phase where the value of raw commodities is reduced by direct damage. Thus sensing and eliminating insect pests must be accomplished to ensure not only the retention of maximum value of the crop but also to permit the safe movement of agricultural commodities from infested and/or infected areas to those that are not. In addition, stored grains like corn, wheat, and rice as well as nuts and fruits and tobacco are processed into value-added products that are susceptible to insect attack. Traditionally, post­ harvest pest control has been achieved predominantly through use of methyl bromide and other fumigants. The strategic use of post-harvest fumigants is required due to human and environmental health regulations. If insect infestations can be sensed before the onset of damage, via the technologies and cooperation in this project, a reduction in the amount of fumigant used for disinfestation, a reduction in the frequency of fumigation, and an increase in fumigation efficiency is expected.This project focuses on the Indianmeal moth and its larvae. The Indianmeal moth is the most common stored product insect found throughout the U.S. Adult Indianmeal moths can be found almost anywhere in the temperate regions of the world. In the U.S. and Europe it is the one insect pest that causes the most damage. The economic losses from these pests in processing, transporting and storing can be in the millions of dollars per contamination incident, product recall, consumer complaint/litigation, and pest control applications. Yet there is no efficient, low cost method to monitor and sense Indianmeal moths.The Indianmeal moth is most often found feeding on finished food products, the ingredients for food such as stored wheat products, milled/processed wheat, and other stored products such as milled cereal products, flour, bran, pasta products, spices or infesting equipment where food is prepared, processed, packaged or stored. Indianmeal moth larvae are the destructive life stage of the insect, eating voraciously. The larvae are highly mobile and continuously seek out new sources of food. While there are no direct health concerns, the psychological health of an individual knowingly consuming these larvae can have dramatic impacts and consequences including legal costs for the retailer, distributor or manufacturer of the product. It is the oneinsect found more often than any other on stored food and grain in the U.S. Over fifty years the genetics of this insect have changed to resist the commonly used pesticide Malathion. In the 1970's, the Indianmeal moth started showing signs of resistance to this insecticide. Since then, the Indianmeal moth has become the most resistant insect known to man. As the other insect competitors for the same habitat and food sources were slower to develop this genetic resistance to Malathion, the Indianmeal moth emerged as the primary pest of stored products.SDC's objective in this project is to develop an affordable and accurate device that can detect Indianmeal moth and Indianmeal moth larvae in stored products. No other technology has been shown to sense larvae in stored products. SDC's technology is pioneering. The SDC device will provide early warning of insects in food processing and storage to help prevent infestation and control populations and drastically reduce the need for hazardous chemicals in the food industry. The primary goal of this project is to implement SDC's innovative nano-tin oxide sensor technology to sense pheromones and semiochemicals, chemicals given off by insects to communicate with other insects. SDC will sense these chemicals simultaneously at very low levels and to differentiate between them and other gases in the air. SDC anticipates that if the project is successful the most damaging insect of stored products will be