Developmental Temperature Affects Life-History Traits and Heat Tolerance in the Aphid Parasitoid Aphidius colemani

Developmental temperature plays important roles in the expression of insect traits through thermal developmental plasticity. We exposed the aphid parasitoid Aphidius colemani to different temperature regimes (10, 20, or 28 degrees C) throughout larval development and studied the expression of morphological and physiological traits indicator of fitness and heat tolerance in the adult. We showed that the mass decreased and the surface to volume ratio of parasitoids increased with the development temperature. Water content was not affected by rearing temperature, but parasitoids accumulated more lipids when reared at 20 degrees C. Egg content was not affected by developmental temperature, but adult survival was better for parasitoids reared at 20 degrees C. Finally, parasitoids developed at 20 degrees C showed the highest heat stupor threshold, whereas parasitoids developed at 28 degrees C showed the highest heat coma threshold (better heat tolerance CTmax1 and CTmax2, respectively), therefore only partly supporting the beneficial acclimation hypothesis. From a fundamental point of view, our study highlights the role of thermal plasticity (adaptive or not) on the expression of different life history traits in insects and the possible correlations that exist between these traits. From an applied perspective, these results are important in the context of biological control through mass release techniques of parasitoids in hot environments.

Automated summary

Developmental temperature has a significant impact on the expression of traits in insect species, influencing factors such as mass, surface-volume ratio, lipid accumulation, and heat tolerance. Parasitoids reared at 20 degrees Celsius displayed better adult survival rates, and those developed at 20 degrees Celsius exhibited the highest heat stupor threshold, indicating potential adaptations to thermal conditions.