Preference of Red Flour Beetle Tribolium castaneum (Herbst) Towards Colour Cues

Behavioural response of the red flour beetle Tribolium castaneum towards various colour cues was evaluated and preference was assessed. Among the coloured surfaces, dark pink was observed to be the most preferred one (27.78, 28.39 and 29.33% at 24, 48 and 72 hrs after release, respectively). Blue, black and yellow revealed moderate preference. Influence of coloured lights on T. castaneum revealed that violet coloured LEDs had superior effect on attraction. The trend on preference of colour cues did not vary with increase in time period and red was the most avoided colour indicating its repellency nature.