SOME REACTIONS OF TWO DESERT BEETLES ADESMIA ANTIQUA AND PIMELIA GRANDIS (TENEBRIONIDAE) TO TEMPERATURE

Abstract

A comparative study of the reactions of two desert beetles, Adesmia antiqua Klug and Pimelia grandis Klug to temperature was made. A. antiqua preferred warmer temperatures between 20° and 40° C, P. grandis between 20° and 33°. The latter aggregated in a temperature zone of 28–34° whereas A. antiqua aggregated in a zone between 34–38°. Lethal temperatures of P. grandis and A. antiqua were 43° and 46° respectively for exposure of 24 hrs. Survival time at different temperatures and the effect of light on temperature reactions were also investigated. Zusammenfassung EINIGE TEMPERATUR‐REAKTIONEN ZWEIER WÜSTENKÄFER, ADESMIA ANTIQUA UND PIMELIA GRANDIS (TENEBRIONIDAE, COLEOPTERA) Die Reaktionen der beiden Wüsten‐Tenebrioniden Adesmia antiqua und Pimelia grandis auf verschiedene Temperaturen werden verglichen. Diese Verhaltensweisen wurden unter Benutzung einer Wahlkammer‐Apparatur geprüft, ähnlich der von Wigglesworth (1941) beschriebenen. Unterhalb 15° waren beide Arten träge und wenig aktiv. In alternativen Temperaturversuchen bevorzugte A. antiqua zwischen 20° und 40° wärmere Temperaturen, P. grandis dagegen solche zwischen 20° und 33°. In einem Temperaturgefälle sammelten sich die meisten P. grandis in einer Temperaturzone zwischen 28° und 40°, während A. antiqua sich in der Zone zwischen 34° bis 38° häuften. Beide Arten waren gegen niedere und hohe Temperaturen resistent. Sie vermochten länger als eine Woche bei 10° zu leben. Bei 60° überlebten sie mindestens 9 Minuten. Die Lage der oberen letalen Temperaturgrenze wurde für A. antiqua bei 46° ermittelt. Wenn Temperatur und Helligkeit zugleich geprüft wurden, bevorzugte P. grandis die dunklere Hälfte der Wahlkammer so lange, wie die Temperatur unter 39° blieb. Dagegen verhielt sich A. antiqua gegenüber Licht indifferent.

Body temperatures of Namib Desert tenebrionid beetles: their relationship in laboratory and field

“…The only similar Tbs to those of the Namib tenebrionids we studied are those of North African tenebrionids (28-38°C;Cloudsley-Thompson, 1962;El-Rayah, 1970), also measured with 'grab and stab' methods.…”

The influence of drought stress on the distribution of insects on four groundnut genotypes grown near Hyderabad, India

“…This makes the observation that A. modicella densities were highest where leaf surface temperatures exceeded 35°C noteworthy, but it is not unique. El Rayah (1970) reported that some desert-dwelling beetles survive at sand substrate temperatures of up to 45°C. As far as A. modicella is concerned, it is necessary to know the daily temperature cycle inside the larval refuge (mine or webbed leaflets) rather than on the upper leaf surface, together with the response of the larvae to temperatures in the 35-45°C range.…”

THE DISTRIBUTION OF THE LARVAE OF DERMESTES MACULATUS (COLEOPTERA: DERMESTIDAE) IN A RADIAL TEMPERATURE GRADIENT

“…There was also marked aggregation at both ends of the apparatus, again due largely to thigmokinesis. E1 Rayah (1970), however, studied the temperature reactions of two desert beetles, Adesmia antiqua and Pimelia grandis using a radial gradient apparatus. Such a devise, adapted from that of Totze ,(1933), eliminated the familiar end reactions usually observed in linear gradient chambers.…”