Effectiveness of different colors of aerial fruit-baited traps for trapping Cerambycidae and Cetoniidae beetles (Insecta: Coleoptera) in the Amazon rainforest

Colored traps can attract or repel insect species, and effects vary among biological groups. Cerambycidae and Cetoniidae are diverse Coleoptera families of ecological and economic importance in forest and agroecosystems. Here, we assessed the effectiveness of different colors of aerial fruit-baited traps in capturing Cerambycidae and Cetoniidae beetles in the Amazon rainforest. We evaluated 4 trap colors: blue, yellow, red, and transparent (control). We sampled Cerambycidae and Cetoniidae beetles from February 2022 to January 2024 in 5 Amazon forests. We collected a total of 1588 individuals and 18 species of Cerambycidae, and 345 individuals and 11 species of Cetoniidae. Species richness and composition of Cerambycidae and Cetoniidae beetles did not differ across the different trap colors. Blue traps exhibited lower abundance of Cerambycidae than did other trap colors. Transparent traps captured more common species (Shannon diversity) than red traps. Moreover, transparent traps harbored more dominant species (Simpson diversity) of Cerambycidae compared to other trap colors. A combination of factors involving the insect with its innate or learned ability to perceive different colors and the characteristics of local vegetation can influence insect preference for certain colors. Our findings provide evidence of the high efficiency of transparent traps for sampling the diversity of Cerambycidae and Cetoniidae beetles in the Amazon rainforest.