ABSTRACT Background Sitophilus zeamais (Mostschulsky), the maize weevil, and Prostephanus truncatus (Horn), the larger grain borer, are two notorious insect pests of farm‐stored products in Sub‐Saharan Africa (SSA). The goal of this study was to determine whether there were interactions between P. truncatus and S. zeamais during storage. Methods The interaction between the two insects was evaluated in terms of the number of live populations, percent damaged grain, weight loss, and weight of powder (flour, frass, feces, body residues, etc.) produced. Results Higher damage was observed in non‐hermetic storage with P. truncatus and in mixed treatments ( P. truncatus and S. zeamais ). A significant difference ( p < 0.05) and positive correlation were observed between the live populations, percentage grain damage, weight of powder produced, and percentage seed weight loss by P. truncatus , S. zeamais , and mixed treatments. S. zeamais dominated populations in the early stage, but was outnumbered by P. truncatus after 60 days of storage for the individual species experiments as well as in the mixed treatments. The high percentage of grain damage observed in non‐hermetic storage after 60 days in P. truncatus and mixed treatments was 58% and 54%, respectively. The weight of powder produced ranged from 0 to 30 g per 250‐g of maize. P. truncatus played a significant role when two insects coexisted and caused more severe damage than S. zeamais alone in maize under non‐hermetic storage conditions.
Suleiman et al. (Mon,) studied this question.