Data From: Distance-based decision-making in oviposition by Tribolium castaneum Herbst (Coleoptera: Tenebrionidae) on low- and no-gluten flours

Red flour beetles have been known to readily infest wheat flour but their likelihood to choose other types of flours is unknown. Red flour beetles will lay eggs in many types of flours but their choice to infest low- and no-gluten flours remains to be tested. Here we test a panel of 14 different commercially available flours in three different choice assays. We find that the beetles lay similar amounts of eggs in buckwheat, teff, millet, rice, and rye flours but that they show significant declines in preference for sorghum, potato, quinoa, cassava, oat, amaranth, garbanzo, spelt, and corn flours. By using three different assays - a wind tunnel, a large arena, and a small arena - we can further parse out differences in whether volatiles or texture of the flour may play a bigger role in choosing these flours to lay their eggs. The number of eggs laid in each of these 14 flours, plus a wheat control, is reported for both the large and small arenas and preference or movement toward the flour source is reported for a wind tunnel assay.