Tarp Color re Insects attraction

This is a very good point. I remember from entomology class that some colors attract certain types of insects and other colors certain other types of insects. For instance, some were especially visible to dipterans (flies, mosquitoes, crane flies, etc), certain colors attracted hymenopterans (bees, wasps), and others to buttlerflies and moths (lepidopterans). I don't remember the specifics but maybe this is relatively easy to research.

I thought the classic answer regarding mosquitos and black flies was that they were attracted to dark colors much more than light colors. I have a picture of me hiking in Killarney and my light brown pants are covered in black flies, and my white shirt has none. So they liked brown better than white then. My memory/guess about this was that they were attracted to heat, and the surface temp of light clothing was less than dark clothing (so this won't matter for a tarp).

I have bright neon blue wind jacket, and bugs regularly fly into my chest at high speeds, they must think I am an enormous flower.

I would pick a tarp color that you like. I don't think you can control for bugs here. They may like the tarp because it serves as a windbreak so the color may not really matter in real use. I have never really noticed mosquitos or black flies landing on either my tent or my tarp; although they will obsessively concentrate on a bug screen (generally flying to the top repeatedly).

For what it's worth, years ago in Virginia, I spent some time with a family who line dried their laundry. They lived in an woody area. The woman who did the laundry assured me that the ticks, which would get in the summers there, were highly attracted to her white linens, and not to the other colors of clothing.

(I haven't noticed any comparable effect with my GG spinntwin.)

This is a great topic.

I am a tarp user. Mine is grey. I don't find it particularly attractive to any particular insect taxon.

Heres some research that I dug up on Scholar about this very topic. There is an enormous amount of research out there about color and insect trapping.

Here's a paper on the effectiveness of coloured insects traps versus white traps.
It seems that these researchers found that any colour was more effective than white for attracting Drosophila (which, admittedly, are not really a problem for hikers).
http://cat.inist.fr/?aModele=afficheN&cpsidt=3696032

These guys also found that colours were important for attracting different families of insects. They compared trap colour (blue or yellow) and trap placement (in the open or in the shade). They found that trap placement was the more important factor. They caught a more diverse suite of insects in the traps in the shade regardless of colour. However, colour was also important with different families of Diptera (flies) attracted to a particular colour.
http://www.springerlink.com/content/q4r02u81w6584185/

Colour is an important visual cue for insects. It seems that there is no one particular colour that will make you invisable to all insects, It depends on what insects you are likely to encounter (time of year/day, locality). If you go for a particular colour you may be less bothered by some species, but attracting others at the same time.

As Michael says, just pick a tarp colour that you like. There are too many factors at play when you are trying to deal with insects. You can't possibly control for them all.

I remember working as a lifeguard in Northern Virginia that the black flies went after dark colors. I watched a large pool for hours and hours and the flies always went for dark suits…lifeguard red included. I had never really thought about it as a consideration for clothing color choice in outdoor gear, but my experience would say it makes a difference.

We have a blue summer tent. We are convinced that some flies like the blue colour! They fly inside and don't want to leave. But as others have said, it may depend on the insect species.

Thanks for all the input! I think I'm going to stick with the color I was initially thinking of using, Grey.