Assessing the Mobility Disruption of Tribolium confusum Under Sublethal Concentrations of Chlorfenapyr Through Video Tracking Software

Tribolium confusum is a destructive global pest of processed grains, causing severe economic damages in storages. After the application of synthetic insecticides to surfaces, they degrade, allowing insects to come in contact with lower concentrations of the toxicant. This study focused on the investigation of the sublethal impacts of the pyrrole insecticide chlorfenapyr across different surface types (plastic, glass, metal, cement) on T. confusum. Using Toxtrac for automated video tracking, we quantified locomotor traits of T. confusum adult males and females. Chlorfenapyr surface treatment at LC10 and LC30 suppressed the locomotor activity of T. confusum adults. Important mobility traits were quantified using ToxTrac analysis, such as average speed, average acceleration, total distance, exploration rate, mobility average speed, and total time frozen. In the untreated groups, beetles displayed high levels of activity, with average speeds exceeding 50 mm/s on glass, plastic, and cement. After insecticide exposure, all locomotor traits declined across all surface types, except for total time frozen, that showed a positive correlation with the increase in concentration of chlorfenapyr. Treatments on non-porous materials (plastic, glass, metal) caused higher mobility suppression in both sexes in comparison to respective treatments on cement. These effects were more prevalent at LC30 vs. LC10. Chlorfenapyr induced a strong, negative effect on the mobility behavior of T. confusum adults across all tested surfaces, highlighting the value of automated behavioral tracking for detecting and quantifying key mobility impairment on specific traits relevant to stored-product pest management.