Colour traps a method for distributional and ecological investigations of Buprestidae (Coleoptera)

Using traps coloured black, blue, green, yellow, orange, red and white the authors studied the attraction of each colour for the family Buprestidae (Coleoptera). A total of 1536 specimens of 45 species were caught by the traps over a period of 3 years. The most attractive for buprestids were the white and yellow coloured traps. This method can be used to study species richness and abundance of mainly anthophagous species. To illustrate the methods' possibilities data on the seasonal dynamics of the activity of some species and dominance structure of a buprestids community in one region located in Southwest Bulgaria are presented.