Phytoparasitica (2013) 41, 213-219

Ghulam Sarwar Solangi, Filitsa Karamaouna, Dimitris Kontodimas, Panagiotis Milonas, Mohammad Khan Lohar, Ghulam Hussain Abro and Riaz Mahmood (2013)
Effect of high temperatures on survival and longevity of the predator Cryptolaemus montrouzieri Mulsant
Phytoparasitica 41 (2), 213-219
Abstract: The effect of high temperature on survival and longevity of Cryptolaemus montrouzieri Mulsant (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) female adults was studied in the laboratory by daily exposure of the beetles to 35°C (mean r.h. 52%) combined with 1-, 2- and 3-h intervals of thermal treatment at 38, 40, 42 and 44°C (r.h. 46-48%). Fifty percent of females survived until the 12th-13th day of the thermal treatment at 38°C (depending on the exposure time), the 2nd-10th day at 40°C for 1-2 h exposure and the 4th-5th day at 42°C for 1 h exposure. Survival was 25-38% on the 1st-2nd day of the thermal treatment at 40, 42 and 44°C for 3, 2 and 1 h of exposure, respectively. Three hours of exposure of female C. montrouzieri at 42°C and 2 h exposure at 44°C were lethal for the beetles. Mean longevity of the predator was 33.13 ± 1.22 days at 35°C and was significantly shorter as the temperature of the thermal treatments increased from 38° to 44°C. These results suggest that daily temperature regimes of 35°C combined with 38-40°C for 1-3 h are marginal for the survival and longevity of the C. montrouzieri, whereas temperatures above 42°C are lethal even at short exposure. These results can partly justify the inability of C. montrouzieri to be permanently established in Pakistan environments and could contribute to a pre-evaluation assay of its potential adaptability in such environmental systems.
(The abstract is excluded from the Creative Commons licence and has been copied with permission by the publisher.)
Link to article at publishers website
Database assignments for author(s): Panagiotis G. Milonas, Dimitris C. Kontodimas, Filitsa Karamaouna

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

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
Cryptolaemus montrouzieri (predator)