Insects (2023) 14 (1 - 58)

Yiming Pei, Jisu Jin, Qiang Wu, Xiaocui Liang, Chen Lv and Jianying Guo (2023)
Cold acclimation and supercooling capacity of Agasicles hygrophila adults
Insects 14 (1 - 58)
Abstract: Agasicles hygrophila Selman and Vogt is used in the biological control of the invasive weed Alternanthera philoxeroides (Mart.) Griseb. However, with the northward establishment of A. philoxeroides in China, the weak adaptivity of A. hygrophila to cold weather has resulted in the ineffective control of A. philoxeroides in northern China. Cold acclimation can significantly enhance insect cold tolerance, enabling them to cope with more frequent climate fluctuations. To improve the biological control efficacy of A. hygrophila in cold climates, we compared the effects of rapid cold hardening and acclimation on A. hygrophila under laboratory conditions. On initially transferring adults from 26 to -10 °C for 2 h, mortality reached 80%. However, when pre-exposed to 0 °C for 2 h and then transferred to -10 °C for 2 h, adult mortality was reduced to 36.67%. These findings indicate that cold acclimation can enhance the cold tolerance of A. hygrophila under laboratory conditions. However, the beneficial cold acclimation effects waned after more than 15 min of recovery at 26 °C. Exposure to 15 °C for 24 h or gradual cooling from 0 to -10 °C at 1 °C·min^-1 also induced cold acclimation, indicating that long-term cold and fluctuating cold acclimation are also potentially effective strategies for enhancing low-temperature tolerance.
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Database assignments for author(s): Jian-Ying Guo

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
biocontrol - natural enemies
Research topic(s) for beneficials or antagonists:
environment/habitat manipulation

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Alternanthera philoxeroides (weed)		China (south)
	Alternanthera philoxeroides (weed)		China (NE)
Agasicles hygrophila (weed bioagent)	Alternanthera philoxeroides (weed)		China (south)