Sex differences in phenotypic plasticity of a mechanism that controls body size: implications for sexual size dimorphism

The degree and/or direction of sexual size dimorphism (SSD) varies considerably among species and among populations within species. Although this variation is in part genetically based, much of it is probably due to the sexes exhibiting differences in body size plasticity. Here, we use the hawkmoth, Manduca sexta, to test the hypothesis that moths reared on different diet qualities and at different temperatures will exhibit sex-specific body size plasticity. In addition, we explore the proximate mechanisms that potentially create sex-specific plasticity by examining three physiological variables known to regulate body size in this insect: the growth rate, the critical weight (which measures the cessation of juvenile hormone secretion from the corpora allata) and the interval to cessation of growth (ICG; which measures the time interval between the critical weight and the secretion of the ecdysteroids that regulate pupation and metamorphosis). We found that peak larval mass of males and females did not exhibit sex-specific plasticity in response to diet or temperature. However, the sexes did exhibit sex-specific plasticity in the mechanism that controls size; males and females exhibited sex-specific plasticity in the growth rate and the critical weight in response to both diet and temperature, whereas the ICG only exhibited sex-specific plasticity in response to diet. Our results suggest it is important for the sexes to maintain the same degree of SSD across environments and that this is accomplished by the sexes exhibiting differential sensitivity of the physiological factors that determine body size to environmental variation.     

Temperature dependent larval resource allocation shaping adult body size in Drosophila melanogaster

Geographical variation in Drosophila melanogaster body size is a long-standing problem of life-history evolution. Adaptation to a cold climate invariably produces large individuals, whereas evolution in tropical regions result in small individuals. The proximate mechanism was suggested to involve thermal evolution of resource processing by the developing larvae. In this study an attempt is made to merge proximate explanations, featuring temperature sensitivity of larval resource processing, and ultimate approaches focusing on adult and pre-adult life-history traits. To address the issue of temperature dependent resource allocation to adult size vs. larval survival, feeding was stopped at several stages during the larval development. Under these conditions of food deprivation, two temperate and two tropical populations reared at high and low temperatures produced different adult body sizes coinciding with different probabilities to reach the adult stage. In all cases a phenotypic trade-off between larval survival and adult size was observed. However, the underlying pattern of larval resource allocation differed between the geographical populations. In the temperate populations larval age but not weight predicted survival. Temperate larvae did not invest accumulated resources in survival, instead they preserved larval biomass to benefit adult weight. In other words, larvae from temperate populations failed to re-allocate accumulated resources to facilitate their survival. A low percentage of the larvae survived to adulthood but produced relatively large flies. Conversely, in tropical populations larval weight but not age determined the probability to reach adulthood. Tropical larvae did not invest in adult size, but facilitated their own survival. Most larvae succeeded in pupating but then produced small adults. The underlying physiological mechanism seemed to be an evolved difference in the accessibility of glycogen reserves as a result of thermal adaptation. At low rearing temperatures and in the temperate populations, glycogen levels tended to correlate positively with adult size but negatively with pupation probability. The data presented here offer an explanation of geographical variation in body size by showing that thermal evolution of resource allocation, specifically the ability to access glycogen storage, is the proximate mechanism responsible for the life-history trade-off between larval survival and adult size.     

幼虫密度对草地螟食物利用率及消化酶活性的影响

为了阐明草地螟Loxostege sticticalis大发生种群幼虫取食行为特征, 在室内条件下（温度22±1℃, 相对湿度70%）对不同幼虫密度［1, 10, 30头/瓶（650 mL）］饲养草地螟幼虫的食物利用率及消化酶活性进行了研究。结果表明： 幼虫中等（或高）密度对草地螟幼虫相对中肠重量、 相对取食量、 粪便干重、 食物利用率和近似消化率及总蛋白酶和亮氨酸氨肽酶活性影响显著。幼虫相对中肠重量以10头/瓶的幼虫密度最大, 1头/瓶的幼虫密度最小。随着幼虫密度的增加, 幼虫相对取食量和粪便干重增加, 而虫体干重减轻, 幼虫食物利用率降低。幼虫密度30头/瓶的幼虫相对取食量和粪便干重显著高于1和10头/瓶的, 而30头/瓶的幼虫食物利用率显著低于1头/瓶的。幼虫近似消化率随幼虫密度的逐渐增加而显著降低。幼虫密度10头/瓶的幼虫总蛋白酶和亮氨酸氨肽酶的活性显著高于1和30头/瓶的, 而淀粉酶的活性受幼虫密度影响不显著。随幼虫密度的增加, 幼虫相对中肠重量与总蛋白酶和亮氨酸氨肽酶活性变化趋势较为一致, 消化酶活性的变化可能与相对中肠重量大小有关。因此, 幼虫密度是影响草地螟幼虫取食行为的重要因子, 这些结果为阐明草地螟大发生种群与一般种群的为害特征提供了重要理论依据。     

New larval agar-based diet for laboratory rearing of Mediterranean fruit fly <Emphasis Type="Italic">Ceratitis capitata</Emphasis> (Diptera,Tephritidae)

Five larval diets for laboratory rearing of Ceratitis capitata were tested. These diets were based on wheat bran, microcellulose, potato starch and agar. To evaluate the quality of diet, pupal rearing efficacy and pupal weight were checked. The best results were obtained with an agar based diet used for Manduca sexta laboratory rearing. To simplify the preparation and to reduce the cost of this diet, a new formulation was developed. Larvae reared on the new agar-based diet achieved higher pupal rearing efficacy than larvae reared on bran diet recently used in medfly mass rearing facilities. Heat treated medflies reared on the new agar-based diet achieved similar pupal rearing efficacy with heat treated medflies reared on bran diet. When testing population density, higher pupal rearing efficacy was again achieved on new diet. The highest pupal rearing efficacy was achieved with 100 eggs per 25 g of diet, lowest with 500 eggs per 25 g of diet. Concerning pupal weight, there was no difference in results achieved on Petri dishes with different larval population densities. Larvae reared on new agar-based diet reached better results than larvae reared on bran diet. The preparation of the new diet is simple and the cost is low, so it is good for laboratory tests and rearing.     

The environmental and genetic control of seasonal polyphenism in larval color and its adaptive significance in a swallowtail butterfly

Seasonal polyphenism, in which different forms of a species are produced at different times of the year, is a common form of phenotypic plasticity among insects. Here I show that the production of dark fifth-instar caterpillars of the eastern black swallowtail butterfly, Papilio polyxenes, is a seasonal polyphenism, with larvae reared on autumnal conditions being significantly darker than larvae reared on midsummer conditions. Both rearing photoperiod and temperature were found to have individual and synergistic effects on larval darkness. Genetic analysis of variation among full-sibling families reared on combinations of two different temperatures and photoperiods is consistent with the hypothesis that variation in darkness is heritable. In addition, the genetic correlation in larval darkness across midsummer and autumnal environments is not different from zero, suggesting that differential gene expression is responsible for the increase in larval darkness in the autumn. The relatively dark autumnal form was found to have a higher body temperature in sunlight than did the lighter midsummer form, and small differences in temperature were found to increase larval growth rate. These results suggest that this genetically based seasonal polyphenism in larval color has evolved in part to increase larval growth rates in the autumn.     

松墨天牛成虫雌雄体型差异及蛹和成虫大小与越冬幼虫体重的关系

【目的】本研究旨在明确松墨天牛 Monochamus alteratus 成虫及越冬幼虫体型大小的差异,探讨该虫越冬后成虫体型大小和越冬幼虫体重大小关系及原因。【方法】于2014年5月1日至10月31日在浙江富阳野外诱捕松墨天牛,通过测量野外诱捕到的松墨天牛成虫体长、体宽,确定林间松墨天牛成虫体型的差异;松墨天牛越冬幼虫的采集和称重测量明确越冬幼虫的组成和体重大小差异;进而通过对越冬幼虫单头跟踪饲养至化蛹、羽化,确定越冬幼虫体重大小与发育所得蛹和成虫大小的关系,阐明林间松墨天牛成虫体型差异的原因。【结果】浙江富阳野外诱捕发现,松墨天牛的活动期间很长,从5月中旬到10月初一直能诱捕到松墨天牛成虫,高峰期在6和7月份。松墨天牛雌雄成虫体型差异很大,雌虫平均体长和体宽分别为20.59±0.19和6.59±0.06 mm;雄虫平均体长和体宽分别为19.90±0.26 和6.44±0.08 mm; 雌虫的平均体长明显高于雄虫,但二者体宽没有显著差异;并且雌雄成虫体长和体宽呈显著正相关。越冬幼虫的头宽测定表明头宽的变化很大,最小为2.20 mm,最大为4.24 mm,经比对越冬幼虫由4龄和5龄幼虫组成;幼虫体重差异大,平均体重为304.2 mg, 介于71.6~858.0 mg之间,其中5龄越冬幼虫显著重于4龄越冬幼虫。进一步将越冬幼虫单管饲养跟踪研究发现,越冬幼虫体重大小决定蛹和羽化后的成虫的大小,二者存在显著的正相关,并且由4龄越冬幼虫发育所得的蛹和成虫显著轻于由5龄幼虫发育所得的蛹和成虫。【结论】松墨天牛成虫体型差异很大,这与越冬幼虫体重差异相关;越冬幼虫的体重大小决定了其化蛹后的蛹重和羽化后成虫的体型和体重的大小;造成越冬幼虫体重差异的可能原因包括松墨天牛成虫扬飞周期长导致的产卵期长而使得天牛发育进度不一致以及寄主不同部位营养的差异。     

Developmental response of carp,Cyprinus carpio,larvae fed different foods or starved

Synopsis The developmental interval, body length, dry and wet weight were determined in carp larvae during the first 2 weeks of exogenous feeding. Six feeding groups were reared at 26°C; four groups received different artificial diets, whereas zooplankton-fed larvae and unfed larvae served as controls. It was found that larval developmental rate can be modified by the type of food. The diet affects the relationship between developmental step and weight. The effect of diet on the relationship between development and length becomes manifest at older steps (after longer feeding the same diet). A threshold point, after which satisfactory results of feeding artificial diets to carp larvae can be expected, depends not only on body size but also on the degree of development.     

Effects of induced variation in anuran larval development on postmetamorphic energy reserves and locomotion

Anuran larvae exhibit high levels of phenotypic plasticity in growth and developmental rates in response to variation in temperature and food availability. We tested the hypothesis that alteration of developmental pathways during the aquatic larval stage should affect the postmetamorphic performance of the Iberian painted frog (Discoglossus galganoi). We exposed tadpoles to different temperatures and food types (animal- vs. plant-based diets) to induce variation in the length of the larval period and body size at metamorphosis. In this species, larval period varied with temperature but was unaffected by diet composition. In contrast, size at metamorphosis was shaped by the interaction between food quality and temperature; tadpoles fed on an animal-based diet became bulkier metamorphs than those fed on plant-based food at high (22°C) but not at low (12°C) temperature. Body condition of newly metamorphosed frogs was unrelated to the temperature or food type experienced during the premetamorphic stage. Frogs maintained at high temperature during the larval period showed reduced jumping ability, especially when fed on the plant-based diet. However, when considering size-independent jumping ability, cold-reared individuals exhibited the lowest performance, and herbivores reared at 17°C the highest. Cold-reared (12°C) frogs accumulated larger amounts of energy reserves than individuals raised at 17°C or 22°C. This was still the case after correction for differences in body mass, thus indicating some size-independent effect of developmental temperature. Despite the higher lipid content of the carnivorous diet, the differences in energy reserves between herbivores and carnivores were relatively weak and associated with differences in body size. These results suggest that the consequences of environmental variation in the larval habitat can extend to the terrestrial phase and influence juvenile growth and survival.     

Seasonality and genetic architecture of development time and body size of the birch feeding sawfly Priophorus pallipes

We tested, using the sawfly Priophorus pallipes feeding on leaves of mountain birch, whether the expression of genetic (co)variation of larval development time and body size can be altered by exposing larvae to diets with differential seasonal changes in quality. In nature, larvae feed mainly on mature leaves, but occasionally they are forced to consume senescing leaves. Sixty families were assayed on three experimentally simulated diets: mature leaves of high quality, senescing leaves of rapidly declining quality, and senesced leaves of low quality. The intuitively obvious positive phenotypic and genetic correlations between development time and final mass were observed when the larvae consumed leaves of stable high quality, but low and declining food quality prevented long-growing individuals and families from achieving high final mass, switching the correlations to close to zero or negative in these treatments. The amount of genetic variation for body size showed a non-linear change across the diet quality gradient, whereas genetic variation for development time increased with decreasing diet quality. The among-trait difference in the degree reaction norms crossed along the diet gradient caused the changes in the expression of genetic (co)variation within the environments. Our results show that seasonally varying diet quality induces dramatic changes in the genetic (co)variation of development time and body size, and that simultaneous analysis of reaction norms and environment-specific expression of genetic (co)variation is necessary for the understanding of the genetic characteristics underlying the construction of phenotypes in heterogeneous environments.     

Starvation resistance of gypsy moth,Lymantria dispar (L.) (Lepidoptera: Lymantriidae): tradeoffs among growth,body size,and survival

Summary Survival and body composition of starving gypsy moth larvae initially reared on aspen foliage or artificial diet differeing in nitrogen (N) and carbohydrate concentration were examined under laboratory conditions. Diet nitrogen concentration strongly affected starvation resistance and body composition, but diet carbohydrate content had no effects on these. Within any single diet treatment, greater body mass afforded greater resistance to starvation. However, starving larvae reared on 1.5% N diet survived nearly three days longer than larvae reared on 3.5% N diet. Larvae reared on artificial diet survived longer than larvae reared on aspen. Differences in survival of larvae reared on artificial diet with low and high nitrogen concentrations could not be attributed to variation in respiration rates, but were associated with differences in body composition. Although percentage lipid in larvae was unaffected by diet nitrogen concentration, larvae reared on 1.5% N diet had a higher percentage carbohydrate and lower percentage protein in their bodies prior to starvation than larvae reared on 3.5% N diet. Hence, larger energy reserves of larvae reared on low nitrogen diet may have contributed to their greater starvation resistance. Whereas survival under food stress was lower for larvae reared on high N diets, growth rates and pupal weights were higher, suggesting a tradeoff between rapid growth and survival. Larger body size does not necessarily reflect larger energy reserves, and, in fact, larger body size accured via greater protein accumulation may be at the expense of energy reserves. Large, fast-growing larvae may be more fit when food is abundant, but this advantage may be severely diminished under food stress. The potential ecological and evolutionary implications of a growth/survival tradeoff are discussed.     

Variation in growth and instar number in field and laboratory Manduca sexta

The tobacco hornworm Manduca sexta has been an important model system for understanding physiological control of growth, development and metamorphosis of insects for more than half a century. Like all Manduca, M. sexta typically has five larval instars, with developmental commitment to metamorphosis occurring early in the 5th (final) instar. Here we show that M. sexta from a field population in North Carolina (USA) shows substantial intraspecific variation in the number of larval instars when feeding on a modified artificial diet. Individuals with six instars consistently exhibited slower growth rates during early larval development than individuals with five instars. The frequency of individuals with six instars decreased with increased rearing temperature. In contrast, M. sexta from a laboratory colony consistently had five instars, and had more rapid larval growth rates than M. sexta from the field. We identify a threshold body size at the start of the 5th instar that predicts whether an individual will have five (greater than 600mg) or six instars (less than 600mg). Variation in field populations in Manduca provides an important resource for understanding physiological control, developmental plasticity and evolution of growth rate, body size and instar number.     

Allometric plasticity in a polyphenic beetle

Abstract 1. Environmental conditions, such as variation in nutrition, commonly contribute to morphological variation among individuals by affecting body size and the expression of certain morphological traits; however the scaling relationship between a morphological trait and body size over a range of body sizes is generally assumed not to change in response to environmental fluctuation (allometric plasticity), but instead to be constant and diagnostic for a particular trait and species or population. The work reported here examined diet‐induced allometric plasticity in the polyphenic beetle Onthophagus taurus Schreber (1759) (Coleoptera: Scarabaeidae). 2. Male O. taurus vary in body size depending on larval nutrition. Only males above a critical body size threshold express fully developed horns; males smaller than this threshold develop only rudimentary horns or no horns at all. 3. Field populations that naturally utilise two different resources for feeding larvae (horse dung vs. cow manure) exhibited significant differences in the average scaling relationship between body size and male horn length over the same range of body sizes. Males collected from cow manure populations expressed consistently longer horns for a given body size than males collected from horse dung populations. 4. Males reared in the laboratory on horse dung or cow manure also exhibited significant differences in the average scaling relationship between body size and horn length. Differences between laboratory populations reared on horse dung or cow manure were of the same kind and magnitude as differences between field populations that utilise these different resources naturally. 5. These findings suggest that between‐population differences in scaling relationships between horn length and body size can be the product of differences in the quality of resources available to developing larvae. Results are discussed in the context of onthophagine mating systems and recent insights in the developmental and endocrine control of horn polyphenisms.     

Effects of dietary variation on growth,composition, and maturation of Manduca sexta (Sphingidae: Lepidoptera)

Most studies linking dietary variation with insect fitness focus on a single dietary component and late larval growth. We examined the effects of variation in multiple dietary factors over most life stages of the sphingid moth, Manduca sexta. Larvae received artificial diets in which protein, sucrose, and water content were varied. The relationship between larval size, growth and consumption rates differed significantly across diets. Larvae on control and low-sucrose diets grew most rapidly and attained the largest pupal and adult sizes. Conversely, larvae on low-water and low-protein diets initially grew slowly, but accelerated in the fifth instar and became pupae and adults comparable to control animals in size. There were no fundamental differences in protein:carbohydrate consumption patterns or strategies among experimental diets and larval instars. However, inadequate dietary water appeared to be more important for early than late instar larvae. Larvae on all artificial diets showed increasing fat content throughout all stages, including wandering and metamorphosis. Compensatory feeding among low-water and low-protein larvae was correlated with significantly higher fat content in larvae, pupae and adults, whereas low-sucrose animals were substantially leaner than those on the control diet. These differences may have strong effects on adult physiology, reproduction, and foraging patterns.     

Laboratory evaluation of six algal species for larval nutritional suitability of the pestiferous midge Glyptotendipes paripes (Diptera: Chironomidae)

Glyptotendipes paripes Edwards midge larval growth, development, survival, emerging adult size, and food digestibility when provided with six species of algae as food were studied in the laboratory. For the study, eggs from G. paripes adults maintained in the laboratory were reared to the adult stage at 30 degrees C for 60 d on pure culture of each algal species at densities of 0.4, 0.1, and 0.02 mg of algae (fresh weight) per milliliter, as a sole food source. All larvae reared on Microcystis sp., Botryoccocus braunii, and Scenedesmus quadricauda died before completing development. The only larvae to complete development to adult were those reared on 0.4 mg/ml Lyngbia cf. aeruginosa (44.0 d), Anabaena flos-aquae (29.7 d), and Chlorella keslerii (44.8 d). No significant differences in body size of the adults achieving complete development on the three algal species were found. Algal digestion, measured by comparing amounts of live and dead algal cells in remains of cultures used for feeding and in larval excrement, revealed that >95% of all L. cf. aeruginosa, A. flos-aquae, and Microcystis sp. cells were digested; for C. keslerii, 13% of cells were digested, whereas little or no digestion of B. braunii and S. quadricauda was observed. To evaluate the effects of algal species on larval growth, laboratory-reared (on artificial food) late third/early fourth instars of G. paripes were fed individual algal species, and 10 d later, body mass changes were recorded and compared with nonfed larvae. Body mass of larvae reared on L. cf. aeruginosa and A. flos-aquae significantly increased, whereas those provided Microcystis sp. and the nonfed larvae showed significant body mass reductions. Overall, B. braunii and S. quadricauda were not suitable as larval food, probably due to their low digestibility, and Microcystis sp. because of its toxicity. This study identifies some algae that do and others that do not support G. paripes larval growth. The information is useful in understanding the feeding habits of G. paripes larvae as some of these algae occur in the larval environments of this pestiferous midge.     

The effect of plant chemistry on the acceptability of caterpillar prey to the argentine antIridomyrmex humilils (Hymenoptera: Formicidae)

Experiments were performed to test the acceptability of two palatable, cryptic caterpillars, the tobacco hornworm,Manduca sexta, and the cabbage looper,Trichoplusia ni, reared on different diets, to the Argentine ant,Iridomyrmex humilis. Ants preferred larvae reared on artificial diet, groundcherry, or cowpea to tobacco-reared larvae. Ants also preferred larvae reared on artificial diet without nicotine to larvae reared on diet containing nicotine (5% dry wt). Experiments were also performed to test the response of ants to larval extracts and chemicals applied to the surface of palatable prey. Ants did not respond differently to larvae of the potato tuber moth,Phthorimaea operculella, treated with larval extracts or regurgitate from tobacco-reared larvae compared to artificialdiet-reared larvae, but ants were deterred byP. operculella larvae treated with nicotine compared to untreated larvae. The results of this study indicate that caterpillars can derive at least some degree of chemical protection from their food plant without sequestering and storing plant compounds and without the development of elaborate aposematic characteristics.     

Egg size and the evolution of phenotypic plasticity in larvae of the echinoid genus Strongylocentrotus

Planktotrophic larvae grow by utilizing energy obtained from food gathered in the plankton. Morphological plasticity of feeding structures has been demonstrated in multiple phyla, in which food-limited larvae increase feeding structure size to increase feeding rates. However, before larvae can feed exogenously they depend largely on material contained within the egg to build larval structures and to fuel larval metabolism. Thus, the capacity for plasticity of feeding structures early in development may depend on egg size. Using the congeneric sea urchins Strongylocentrotus franciscanus and S. purpuratus, which differ in egg volume by 5-fold, I tested whether the degree of expression of feeding structure (larval arm length) plasticity is correlated with differences in the size of the egg. I experimentally manipulated egg size of S. franciscanus (the larger-egged species) by separating blastomeres at the 2-cell stage to produce half-sized larvae. I reared half-size and normal-size larvae under high and low food treatments for 20 days. I measured arm and body lengths at multiple ages during development and calculated the degree of plasticity expressed by larvae from all treatments. Control and unmanipulated S. franciscanus larvae (from ∼ 1.0 nl eggs) had significantly longer arms relative to body size and a significantly greater degree of plasticity than half-sized S. franciscanus larvae (from < 0.18 nl eggs), which in turn expressed a significantly greater degree of plasticity than S. purpuratus larvae (from ∼ 0.3 nl eggs). These results indicate that egg size affects larval arm length plasticity in the genus Strongylocentrotus; larger eggs produce more-plastic larvae both in an experimental and a comparative context. However, changes in egg size alone are not sufficient to account for evolved differences in the pattern of plasticity expressed by each species over time and may not be sufficient for the evolutionary transition from feeding to non-feeding.     

GEOGRAPHIC VARIATION IN LIFE-HISTORY TRAITS OF THE ANT LION,MYRMELEON IMMACULATUS: EVOLUTIONARY IMPLICATIONS OF BERGMANN'S RULE

In eastern North America, body size of the larval ant lion Myrmeleon immaculatus increases from south to north, following Bergmann's rule. We used a common-garden experiment and a reciprocal-transplant experiment to evaluate the effects of food and temperature on ant lion growth, body size, and survivorship. In the laboratory common-garden experiment, first-instar larvae from two southern (Georgia, South Carolina) and two northern (Connecticut, Rhode Island) populations were reared in incubators under high- and low-food and high- and low-temperature regimes. For all populations, high food increased final body mass and growth rate and decreased development time. Growth rates were higher at low temperatures, but temperature did not affect larval or adult body mass. Survivorship was highest in high-food and low-temperature treatments. Across all food and temperature treatments, northern populations exhibited a larger final body mass, shorter development time, faster growth rate, and greater survivorship than did southern populations. Results were similar for a field reciprocal-transplant experiment of third-instar larvae between populations in Connecticut and Oklahoma: Connecticut larvae grew faster than Oklahoma larvae, regardless of transplant site. Conversely, larvae transplanted to Oklahoma grew faster than larvae transplanted to Connecticut, regardless of population source. These results suggest that variation in food availability, not temperature, may account for differences in growth and body size of northern and southern ant lions. Although northern larvae grew faster and reached a larger body size in both experiments, northern environments should suppress growth because of reduced food availability and a limited growing season. This study provides the first example of countergradient selection causing Bergmann's rule in an ectotherm.     

The relative importance of temperature and diet to larval development and adult size of the winter stonefly, Soyedina carolinensis (Piecoptera: Nemouridae)

SUMMARY. 1. Soyedina carolinensis Claassen, a leaf shredding stonefly, was reared in a series of three laboratory experiments from early instar to adult on different species of deciduous leaves and at various constant and fluctuating temperature regimes.
2. Experiment 1, which involved rearing larvae on fourteen different leaf diets at ambient stream temperatures, showed that diet significantly affected larval growth and adult size but did not affect overall developmental time.
3. Experiment 2, which involved rearing larvae on five different leaf diets at each of three fluctuating temperature regimes (viz ambient White Clay Creek (WCC), ambient WCC+3°C, and ambient WCC+6°C), showed that: (i) adding 6°C to the normal temperature regime of WCC was lethal to 99% of the larvae regardless of diet; and (ii) warming WCC by 3°C did not affect developmental time but did significantly reduce adult size relative to adults reared at WCC temperatures on certain diets.
4. Experiment 3, which involved rearing larvae on five different leaf diets at each of five constant temperatures (viz 5, 10, 15, 20, 25°C), showed that: (i) temperature significantly affected the mortality, growth, and development time of larvae whereas diet only affected larval growth and mortality; (ii) temperatures at or near 10°C yielded maximum larval growth and survival for most diets; (iii) at 5°C, larval mortality was high and growth was low resulting in a few small adults for most diets; (iv) larval mortality was at or near 100% at 15°C regardless of diet; and (v) no larvae survived at 20 and 25°C.     

Effects of dietary sterols on development and reproduction of southwestern corn borer Diatraea grandiosella Dyar

Southwestern corn borer larvae, Diatraea grandiosella Dyar, were reared on artificial diets containing individual sterols (cholesterol, sitosterol, or stigmasterol) in concentrations ranging from 0.05 to 0.2%. Female larvae developed to pupae more rapidly as sitosterol and stigmasterol were increased in the diets. Increased cholesterol concentrations did not affect the larval period significantly, and development was not as rapid as with the phytosterols. Female larvae developed at significantly slower rates in all diets than did males, except at the highest concentrations of sitosterol and stigmasterol. Female pupae and adults were significantly heavier than the males, and pupal and adult weight increased as sterol concentrations increased. Number of eggs laid per fertilized female and egg hatchability were significantly increased as concentrations of the three sterols were increased in the larval diets. Sitosterol-reared females produced more eggs than did females reared on other sterols but egg hatchability was not significantly different among sterols.