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 det ailed information on flight duration, speed, and frequency of individu al flights, according to user-alterable specifications. In an experime nt using summer-generation female beetles, flight parameters were simi lar among beetles fed on potato or Solanum dulcamara, whereas starved beetles virtually did not fly. Speeds for beetles on the flight mill a re significantly slower than those observed in the field.