Skip to main content
Entomology 2023 Main banner
Bayer
Icon Legend
This session is not in your schedule.
This session is in your schedule. Click again to remove it.
Presentation Icons
In-Person
In-Person
On-Demand
On-Demand
Student Competition
Student Competition
Poster
Poster
Ticketed Event
Ticketed Event
Back
ViewAttendees 2

Member Symposium

Plant-Insect Ecosystems

Thermal Ecology of Pollinators

Extreme temperatures and heat stress through the life cycle of a pollinating herbivore

Sunday, November 5, 2023
8:05 AM – 8:20 AM ET
Location: Gaylord National Resort & Convention Center, Chesapeake 4-5
In-Person
Climate change is increasing the frequency and intensity of extreme temperature events.  We explore how high temperatures and heat stress act across the life cycle in Manduca sexta, an important herbivore (as a larva) and pollinator (as an adult) of its Solanaceous hostplants. The thermal biology and heat tolerance of M. sexta differ substantially among egg, larval, pupal and adult stages. We describe how heat shocks and heat waves during the larval stage of M. sexta can affect fitness of the herbivore, its major larval parasitoid Cotesia congregata, and its larval hostplant. Larval heat shock can reduce reproductive success of adult M. sexta. The combination of larval heat stress and parasitism can greatly increase Manduca lifespan and herbivory, and decrease hostplant fitness.  Our findings highlight the diverse potential consequences of extreme temperature events for M. sexta, in light of its multiple ecological roles as herbivore, host, and pollinator.