Minimal Thermal Requirements for Development and Activity of Stored Product and Food Industry Pests (Acari, Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, Psocoptera, Diptera and Blattodea): A Review

Abstract

Low temperatures play an important role in arthropods because they affect both the individual and population development of all physiological and behavioural activities. Manipulation with low temperatures is a primary nonchemical pest control method. For stored product and food industry practitioners, a knowledge of pest thermal requirements, in particular threshold temperatures at which development and other activities of a particular pest species cease, is of crucial importance. This review presents summary data regarding the lower temperature thresholds of 121 species of stored product and food industry pests from six arthropod taxa (Acari, Coleoptera, Lepidoptera, Psocoptera, Diptera, and Blattodea). In particular, this review collected and summarized information regarding the lower development thresholds, lower population thresholds, lower acoustic or respiratory thresholds, lower walking and flying thresholds and lower trap capture thresholds for flying and walking arthropods. The average lower development threshold (LDT) differed among orders: the lowest was reported for Acari (6.8 °C) and Diptera (8.1 °C), followed by Lepidoptera (11.3 °C) and Psocoptera (13.8 °C), and the highest was reported for Coleoptera (14 °C) and Blattodea (15 °C). An exclusion-function was established showing the percentage of pest species (n = 112) that were developmentally suppressed (excluded) due to temperatures reaching the LDT in the range of decreasing temperatures from 25 °C to 0 °C. We scaled various temperature thresholds from the lowest to highest temperature as follows: the walking threshold, the trap capture threshold for walking insects, the lower development threshold, lower population threshold, lower flying threshold and the lower trap capture threshold for flying pests. Important pest species were identified for which information regarding the lower temperature threshold is missing, or for which the information is too variable and should be refined in future research.

Thermal ecosystem engineering by songbirds promotes a symbiotic relationship with ants

“…As reproduction and activity of invertebrates is temperature dependent (e.g. 37,38 ), the opportunity to use warm nests of birds may promote interspecific interactions in cool areas, where the availability of warm sites is limited.…”

Synthetic and Natural Insecticides: Gas, Liquid, Gel and Solid Formulations for Stored-Product and Food-Industry Pest Control

“…Presumably, this phenomenon can be explained by the technological adaptation of pesticide formulations to various pest body entry routes and the complex environmental and social conditions in which they are applied [ 22 , 23 ]. For example, various insecticide formulations may require different temperatures above certain minimum thresholds that are associated with sufficient respiratory activity (e.g., fumigants or modified atmospheres) or locomotor activity (e.g., baits) of the target pest-arthropod species [ 24 , 25 ]. The enormous diversity of the species of storage- and food-associated pests [ 22 ] and variance in their biological (e.g., resistance), ecological, and ethological properties inevitably led to the gradual development of a rich spectrum of more or less species-specific insecticide formulations and methods of their application [ 26 , 27 , 28 ].…”

“…The enormous diversity of the species of storage- and food-associated pests [ 22 ] and variance in their biological (e.g., resistance), ecological, and ethological properties inevitably led to the gradual development of a rich spectrum of more or less species-specific insecticide formulations and methods of their application [ 26 , 27 , 28 ]. Pesticide product proliferation also reflects the geographical variability and specificity of local social and economic conditions [ 24 , 29 , 30 ]. Sparks et al [ 31 ] mentioned that the diversity of approaches employed in the insecticide discovery process (e.g., competitor-inspired products, bioactive hypotheses, and natural products) has also profoundly contributed to the discovery of new classes and formulations of insecticides.…”

Automated Applications of Acoustics for Stored Product Insect Detection, Monitoring, and Management

“…Acoustic technology has a long history of supporting insect pest managers with decision tools and providing contextual information on insect life history, feeding, and movement [ 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 , 9 ]. Similar technology is being applied in other areas of agriculture, such as the analysis of cattle behaviors [ 10 , 11 ].…”