Maize is the most important grain and forage crop which is used to feed of all species of animals as well as for food and seed purposes. In recent years the expansion of the area sown to maize for grain, the growth in yield, and gross harvest in the Republic of Belarus has prioritized the problem of protecting grain from arthropods during the post-harvest period. In 2024–2025 the species composition of Lepidoptera and Coleoptera insects as well as the dominance structure and population dynamics of stored-product pests were studied for the first time using the standard method (average sampling) and the trap method in technocenoses of seed and forage granaries during maize grain storage. It was found that the taxonomic composition of the pests included 19 species from 2 orders and 9 families, the largest number of species (16) being detected with the use of pheromone-glue traps, which was 3.2 times as many as in comparison with the standard method. It was established that the dominance structure was determined by the storage method and the intended use of the grain: the absolute predominance of Lepidoptera was recorded in seed stocks when using big bags (100.0 %), whereas in forage warehouses with bulk storage the species spectrum expanded due to Coleoptera (20.4 %) with the dominant role of Lepidoptera (79.6 %). The ubiquitous eudominant was the Indian meal moth (Plodia interpunctella Hbn.) with a high dominance index (78.7– 99.7 %), while the hairy fungus beetle (Typhaea stercorea L.) reached the dominant level (19.8 %) only when forage grain was stored. The analysis of the pests recording methods confirmed the high efficiency of pheromone monitoring (12.7–100.0 %) in comparison with the average sampling method (0.01–0.20 %), which turned out to be practically ineffective for detecting arthropods. The conducted research will improve the reliability of monitoring and become the basis for the development of a study-supported strategy to protect maize grain from stored-product pests.

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