On the temperature tolerance of diapausing prepupae of the beet webworm Loxostege sticticalis L. (Lepidoptera, Pyraloidea: Crambidae)

Abstract

The beet webworm, Loxostege sticticalis L. is a very dangerous polyphagous insect pest. The beet webworm overwinters at the pronymphal stage. In some individuals, the diapause can last from the first generation to the next spring. The influence of 30-days-long exposure at temperatures of +5, +10, +15, +20, and +25°C on survival and subsequent reactivation of diapausing pronymphs of L. sticticalis has been investigated in laboratory conditions. The beet webworm was shown to be very thermotolerant: although the temperature of +5°C, as expected, was optimal for reactivation, the other thermal regimes did not cause a significant decrease in survival and in the proportion of individuals reactivated before the end of the experiment (in 120 days). These data suggest that the southern boundary of the geographical range of L. sticticalis is determined not by high winter temperatures, but rather by some other factors (possibly, by high summer temperatures).