Characterization of bean leaf beetle (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae) flight capacity

Bean leaf beetle, Cerotoma trifurcata (Forster) (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), flight capacity was measured using a computer-monitored tethered-flight mill. Beetles were collected from soybean (Glycine max (L.)(Fabaceae)) and alfalfa (Medicago sativa L.(Fabaceae)) fields in 2000 and 2001. The number of individual flights, flight duration, and flight distance were recorded for a 24-hr period. Eighty-nine percent of beetles made at least one flight, and the mean number of individual flights per beetle was 25.59 +/- 5.88 (mean +/- SE). The mean total-flight duration was >9 min, and the longest duration of a single flight was >38 min. Seventy-one percent of beetles flew <51 m and 11.76% flew >301 m. The farthest flight made by an individual beetle was 4.9 km. The mean flight distance of all beetles flown was 166.01 +/- 45.38 m. Beetles collected in August flew farther than beetles collected in any other month. There was a strong positive relationship between flight distance and flight duration but not between flight distance and the number of individual flights. The presence of ectoparasitic mites and ovarian stage did not affect flight capacity.