Heat tolerances of some ants and beetles from the pre-Saharan steppe of Tunisia

Abstract

Temperature tolerances of syntopic ants and beetles from the pre-Saharan steppe showed interspecific differences. Cataglyphis bombycina was the most heat tolerant species and the only one that could withstand 50°C for more than 10 minutes. No species survived 45°C indefinitely and for some 35°C and 40°C proved debilitating in the long term, at least to some individuals. Mortality at the lower of these temperatures may have been because of thermally-induced depletion of energy stores rather than direct effects of temperature, especially for Cataglyphis bombycina. Large individuals of Messor arenarius survived high temperature better than smaller conspecifics.