Environmental Entomology (1989) 18, 1112-1116

Kent D. Elsey (1989)
Cold tolerance of adult spotted and banded cucumber beetles (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae)
Environmental Entomology 18 (6), 1112-1116
Abstract: Spotted and banded cucumber beetles, Diabrotica undecimpunctata howardi Barber and D. balteata LeConte, cold-acclimated and nonacclimated, shared a common range of supercooling points (-12 to -14°C); however, LD₅₀ values showed that cold-temperature survival of the spotted cucumber beetle was higher relative to the banded cucumber beetle as the exposure temperature approached 0°C. A considerable portion (41.5%) of spotted cucumber beetle adults survived ambient conditions during the winter of 1988 at Charleston, S.C., whereas, all adults of the banded cucumber beetle died. Reproductive diapause did not contribute to cold hardiness in the spotted cucumber beetle, but cold acclimation increased survival to exposures of -10°C in both species.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
environment - cropping system/rotation
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Diabrotica undecimpunctata		U.S.A. (SE)
	Diabrotica balteata		U.S.A. (SE)