Mortality, fecundity and development among bed bugs (Cimex lectularius) exposed to prolonged, intermediate cold stress

Abstract

BACKGROUNDBed bugs (Cimex lectularius L.) have returned as a nuisance pest worldwide. Their ability to withstand different types of environmental stress should be explored in order potentially to increase the efficiency of control methods.RESULTSImmediate and long‐term effects of exposure to temperatures from 0 to −10 °C for 1, 2 and 3 weeks are reported. Fifth‐instar nymphs and adults were exposed to constant or fluctuating temperatures. Increased cold and extended time yielded higher mortality; nymphs were more resilient than adults at the shorter durations of exposure. At intermediate temperatures, mortality was higher at constant compared with fluctuating temperatures, whereas all individuals died after 3 weeks of exposure to −7 °C. The success among survivors after cold treatment was also affected in terms of reduced egg production, hatching success and the ability of fifth‐instar nymphs to advance into the adult stage; however, nymphs produced after cold treatment developed normally.CONCLUSIONSDetrimental effects of prolonged exposure to low temperatures were seen in bed bugs both during and after cold treatment. The results suggest that temperatures below −7 °C can be applied by laymen to control this pest in small items if available treatment time is of less concern. © 2016 The Authors. Pest Management Science published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of Society of Chemical Industry.

Temperature stress deteriorates bed bug (Cimex lectularius) populations through decreased survival, fecundity and offspring success

“…This finding demonstrates the need for studies of the long-term effects from sublethal stressors, and the complexity of the mechanisms is further highlighted by the different responses at both ends of the temperature scale. Sublethal cold exposure affects adult bed bugs, but this is not sustained in their later offspring [ 35 ], whereas heat enforces both direct and cross-generational effects [ 40 ] to cause a prolonged detrimental population impact. These differentiated effects may be a further indication of Wolbachia regulated responses to heat stress.…”

Cold stress results in sustained locomotor and behavioral deficits in Drosophila melanogaster

“…The effects of cold exposure depend on both the severity and duration of the exposure. These factors interact such that prolonged exposure to mild cold stress elicits fitness consequences similar to acute exposure to severe cold stress (Marshall & Sinclair, ; Overgaard & Macmillan, ; Rukke et al, ; Teets & Denlinger, ). Here we found that prolonged exposure to moderate cold increased risk of mortality and resulted in deficits in locomotor behavior in a dose‐ and sex‐dependent manner.…”

“…L. Andersen et al, 2015;Kellermann et al, 2012). This thermal tolerance/range distribution relationship is mediated by the fitness consequences of cold exposure, which include reduced fecundity (Marshall & Sinclair, 2010;Rinehart, Yocum, & Denlinger, 2000), developmental defects (Rukke, Hage, & Aak, 2017), and risk of mortality from cold injury (Colinet, Lee, & Hoffmann, 2010;MacMillan & Sinclair, 2011;Renault, 2011;Teets & Denlinger, 2013).…”

“…Winter conditions show strong latitudinal variation, and as a result winter temperature and lower thermal tolerance limits are highly predictive of range distributions (Addo‐Bediako et al, ; J. L. Andersen et al, ; Kellermann et al, ). This thermal tolerance/range distribution relationship is mediated by the fitness consequences of cold exposure, which include reduced fecundity (Marshall & Sinclair, ; Rinehart, Yocum, & Denlinger, ), developmental defects (Rukke, Hage, & Aak, ), and risk of mortality from cold injury (Colinet, Lee, & Hoffmann, ; MacMillan & Sinclair, ; Renault, ; Teets & Denlinger, ). Thus, modeling an insect's current and future geographic range requires accurate measures of its thermal tolerance.…”

Three questions about the eco‐physiology of overwintering underground

“…Such acute exposures to CT min are non‐lethal. Other assays measure survival duration after a sudden drop to a fixed T b (e.g., Heatwole et al ., 1969; Gregory, 1982; Burke et al ., 2002; Storey, 2006; Olson et al ., 2013; Rukke et al ., 2016; but see Huang and Tu, 2008; Berman et al ., 2016), freezing temperature (Lowe et al ., 1971) or super‐cooling temperature (Lowe et al ., 1971; Storey, 2006). Exposure to freezing or supercooling temperatures for a few hours or day is typically lethal (Storey, 2006; but see Costanzo et al ., 1995; Berman et al ., 2016), but whether prolonged exposure to cold but above‐freezing temperatures is lethal is unclear.…”