QUANTIFYING FLIGHT OF COLORADO POTATO BEETLES (COLEOPTERA, CHRYSOMELIDAE) WITH A MICROCOMPUTER-BASED FLIGHT MILL SYSTEM

A microcomputer-based flight mill system for Colorado potato beetles, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say), is described. The system provides detailed information on flight duration, speed, and frequency of individual flights, according to user-alterable specifications. In an experiment using summer-generation female beetles, flight parameters were similar among beetles fed on potato or Solanum dulcamara, whereas starved beetles virtually did not fly. Speeds for beetles on the flight mill are significantly slower than those observed in the field.