Basking improves but winter warming worsens overwinter survival in the linden bug.
J Insect Physiol
; 156: 104655, 2024 Jul.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-38852905
ABSTRACT
The present study investigates the effects of rare winter basking behavior (observed in wild populations of the Linden bug, Pyrrhocoris apterus) and the effects of winter warming (predicted by climate models) on overwinter survival and physiology of P. apterus. The insects were exposed to scenarios simulating basking and winter warming in the laboratory. Part of the insects were exposed to real winters under semi-natural conditions in the field for comparison. The results show a clear positive effect of winter basking, implying that basking behavior is critical for overwinter survival in P. apterus. In contrast, winter warming was found to have a strong negative effect on overwinter survival, potentially representing a threat to central European populations of P. apterus. Physiological parameters (mass, water content, SCP, energy reserves) measured in this study cannot fully explain all the results. Further study is needed to better understand the mechanisms behind the positive effects of winter basking and the negative effects of winter warming on overwintering P. apterus.
Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Seasons
/
Heteroptera
Limits:
Animals
Language:
En
Journal:
J Insect Physiol
/
J. insect physiol
/
Journal of insect physiology
Year:
2024
Document type:
Article
Country of publication:
Reino Unido