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Reduced mobility but high survival: thermal tolerance and locomotor response of the specialist herbivore, Pareuchaetes insulata (Walker) (Lepidoptera: Erebidae), to low temperatures

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 December 2016

O.O. Uyi ,
C. Zachariades ,
E. Marais  and
M.P. Hill
O.O. Uyi*
Affiliation:
Department of Animal and Environmental Biology, University of Benin, P.M.B. 1154, Benin City, Nigeria Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, P.O. Box 94, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa
C. Zachariades
Affiliation:
ARC – Plant Protection Research Institute, Private Bag X6006, Hilton 3245, South Africa School of Life Sciences, University of KwaZulu-Natal, Private Bag X01, Scottsville 3209, South Africa
E. Marais
Affiliation:
Centre for Invasion Biology, Stellenbosch University, Private Bag X01, Matieland 7602, South Africa
M.P. Hill
Affiliation:
Department of Zoology and Entomology, Rhodes University, P.O. Box 94, Grahamstown 6140, South Africa
*
*Author for correspondence Phone: +234 80380 130 12 Fax: +234 052 602370 E-mail: [email protected]
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Abstract

Disentangling the responses of insects to variations in their thermal environment is central to our understanding of the evolution of temperature-dependent performance in these species. Here, we report results of experiments examining the effects of high (upper lethal temperature = ULT) and low (lower lethal temperature = LLT) temperature and exposure time on the survival of larvae and adults of a multivoltine, nocturnal moth species, Pareuchaetes insulata, a biological control agent whose impact on an invasive weed, Chromolaena odorata has been variable in South Africa. The influence of temperature and acclimation on locomotion performance of the moth was also investigated. Temperature and duration of exposure significantly affected survival of both adults and larvae of P. insulata with more extreme temperatures and/or longer durations proving to be more lethal. Third instar larvae and adults are both freeze intolerant and had LT50 of −5.9 and −4.7°C, respectively, after a 2 h exposure. Although cold acclimation was beneficial to the nocturnal larvae, temperatures below 10°C significantly reduce their locomotion activities. The average daily minimum temperatures in the coldest months at three locations in South Africa are over 5°C lower than those of Fort Lauderdale, Florida, USA, where P. insulata was originally collected. Our results suggest that lethal high or low temperatures at short timescales are trivial in explaining the variable performance of P. insulata, but reduced locomotion at sub-lethal temperatures may be an important driver of the population dynamics of the biocontrol agent (especially in winter months) and may consequently explain the low population levels of the moth because of possible reduced feeding by larvae during night-time low temperatures.

Keywords

Pareuchaetes insulatalocomotion performanceacclimationlethal temperaturesbiological control agentChromolaena odorata
Type
Research Papers
Information
Bulletin of Entomological Research , Volume 107 , Issue 4 , August 2017 , pp. 448 - 457
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Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2016 

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