Colonization of cabbage by the western black flea beetle (Phyllotreta pusilla) as affected by mulch and time of day

A 3-year study was conducted in Colorado (USA) to evaluate the response of the western black flea beetle (WBFB),Phyllotreta pusilla Horn (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), to different colored mulches and to determine if there were diurnal differences in the effect of mulch on their colonization on plants. The plants surrounded by aluminum mulch had the highest number of WBFB compared with the rest of the treatments in 1999 and 2000, but not in 2002; the black mulch had the lowest number of WBFB in 3 years of sampling. The highest number of WBFB were observed in the late day (4 p.m.) counting in 1999, whereas none of the treatments resulted in significant differences among early, mid, and late day counts in 2000 and in 2002. http://www.phytoparasitica.org posting May 20, 2005.