Acclimation effects on thermal locomotor performance of the invasive Polyphagous Shot Hole Borer beetle, Euwallacea fornicatus (Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae)

作者：Madeleine Pienaar, Anandi Bierman, Francois Roets, John S. Terblanche · 发表于：Journal of Thermal Biology · 年份：2025 · DOI：10.1016/j.jtherbio.2025.104068 · 被引用次数：3 · 研究领域：Forest Insect Ecology and Management、Insect and Arachnid Ecology and Behavior、Insect and Pesticide Research

The Polyphagous Shot Hole Borer (PSHB; Euwallacea fornicatus, Coleoptera: Curculionidae: Scolytinae) is an invasive and destructive tree pest. To assess whether thermal acclimation influences E. fornicatus locomotion performance (i.e., induced plastic responses) that may influence invasion potential, beetles were acclimated to three temperatures (18 °C, 25 °C, and 32 °C), and four locomotion traits were measured across six temperatures (13 °C, 18 °C, 23 °C, 28 °C, 33 °C and 38 °C) per acclimation group to construct thermal performance curves, capturing critical thermal minimum (T min ), critical thermal maximum (T max ), thermal breadth (T br ), optimal performance rate (U max ). Substantial plasticity of performance curves was found in E. fornicatus . Generally, cold (18 °C) acclimation increased the thermal range of several locomotor performance traits without affecting performance levels, thereby supporting the colder-is-better hypothesis. To assess the consequences of these plastic responses, using the thermal performance curves established here, movement rates of E. fornicatus in an at-risk orchard area in South Africa were predicted across seasons while considering artificial warm and cold spells. Cold-acclimated beetles exhibited the highest cumulative distance traveled in both summer and winter, while warm-acclimated beetles had the lowest. Therefore, short-term thermal variation significantly influenced E. fornicatus locomotion performance, with cold acclimation nota...