Immunosenescence along with direct physiological allocation trade-offs between life history and immunity in the red palm weevil Rhynchophorus ferrugineus

Host condition and pathogen identity influence bacterial infection survival in the common eastern firefly, Photinus pyralis

“…This likely reflects the age of fireflies collected at each time in the season, as fireflies collected earlier in the season are all newly eclosed and young while later collections have a mix of older and younger fireflies. The interaction that we observed between infection and season day is reminiscent of the aging effect seen across the animal kingdom including in other insect species where older individuals are generally more susceptible to infection (Armitage et al, 2003;Armitage & Boomsma, 2010;Fisher & Hajek, 2016;Khan et al, 2016;Lourenço et al, 2019;Park et al, 2011;Pu et al, 2021;Roberts & Hughes, 2014;Sciambra & Chtarbanova, 2021;Zerofsky et al, 2005).…”

“…Theory predicts that individuals with more energetic resources will successfully defend against infection, leading to lower mortality (Harshman & Zera, 2007; Lochmiller & Deerenberg, 2000). Age may decrease or increase the ability to fight infection, depending on the taxon, although most commonly age results in weakening of the immune response or immunosenescence (Khan et al, 2016; Lourenço et al, 2019; Park et al, 2011; Pu et al, 2021). Further, differences across populations are expected as populations may differ in local environmental conditions, including exposure to unique pathogen communities, and fitness costs may result in species‐specific or even population‐specific co‐evolution between pathogens and hosts (Bankers et al, 2017; Papkou et al, 2021).…”