Crop Research Institute, Drnovska 507, CZ 16106 Praha 6 - Ruzyně, Czech Republic.
J Therm Biol. 2019 Aug;84:185-189. doi: 10.1016/j.jtherbio.2019.07.013. Epub 2019 Jul 3.
Post-diapause, overwintered adults of the true bug Pyrrhocoris apterus L. (Heteroptera, Pyrrhocoridae) form conspicuous aggregations at warm spots in early spring. Using a combination of laboratory experiments and field observations, we assessed the influence of this behaviour on the seasonal timing of reproduction. In the laboratory, post-diapause pairs mated after an accumulation of 80° days (dd), and females started to lay eggs after an additional 80 dd (considering 10.3 °C as a lower temperature threshold for post-diapause development). In the field, however, females mated as early as late March (based on data from four seasons), which corresponded to the accumulation of <15 dd (based on summing the temperatures recorded at a meteorology station). Such a 'discrepancy' between laboratory and field data is explained by thermoregulation. Aggregated adults bask in sunny spots, thereby increasing their body temperatures to ~25 °C, which is 7-16 °C above the temperature of the surrounding ground. This thermal excess speeds up their post-diapause development and enables early mating and oviposition. As a result, behavioural thermoregulation hastens the seasonal start of reproduction in P. apterus by > 1 month.
滞育后，早春时节，长红猎蝽（半翅目，猎蝽科）的越冬成虫会在温暖的地方形成明显的聚集。通过实验室实验和野外观察相结合，我们评估了这种行为对繁殖季节定时的影响。在实验室中，滞育后配对成虫在积累 80 个有效积温日（dd）后进行交配，而雌虫在额外积累 80 dd 后开始产卵（以 10.3°C 作为滞育后发育的下限温度）。然而，在野外，雌虫早在 3 月底就开始交配（基于四个季节的数据），这相当于积累的有效积温不足 15 dd（根据气象站记录的温度总和计算）。这种实验室和野外数据之间的“差异”可以用体温调节来解释。聚集的成虫在阳光充足的地方晒太阳，从而将体温升高到~25°C，比周围地面温度高 7-16°C。这种热量过剩加速了它们的滞育后发育，使它们能够提前交配和产卵。因此，行为体温调节使长红猎蝽的繁殖季节提前了一个多月。
