Influence of Freezing Temperatures on the Distribution of Umbonia crassicornis (Hemiptera: Membracidae) in Florida

Authors

  • Robert V. Dowell 1681 Pebblewood Drive, Sacramento, California 95833, USA
  • Thomas K. Wood Department of Entomology and Wildlife Ecology, University of Delaware, Newark, Delaware, USA 19716, Deceased

Keywords:

cold snap, distribution, freezing temperatures, multiple exposures, polynomial equation, thorn bug

Abstract

Umbonia crassicornis mortality in single cold temperature exposures increased with decreasing temperature, and the equation, Y = 8.43X + 1.758X2 + 4.295, describes the relationship between mortality (Y) and cold temperature (X). Multiple exposures to freezing temperatures increased mortality by 1.7 to 12.3 fold. Periods of freezing temperature occur every other year at the insect’s northern limit of its range in Florida and are one factor responsible for limiting its distribution in the state.

 

La mortalidad de Umbonia crassicornis aumentó con la disminución de la temperatura, y la ecuación, 8.43X + 1.758X2 + 4.295, describe la relación entre la mortalidad (Y) y la temperatura fría (X). Exposiciones múltiples a temperaturas bajas aumentó la mortalidad en un 1.7 a 12.7 veces. Los períodos de temperaturas de congelación que suceden cada otro año en el límite norte de los insectos de la Florida es uno de los factores responsables de la limitación de su distribución en el estado.

 

View this article in BioOne

Downloads

Published

2014-04-08

Issue

Vol. 97, No. 1 (March 2014)

Section

Scientific Notes

License

Copyright for any article published in Florida Entomologist is held by the author(s) of the article. Florida Entomologist is an open access journal. Florida Entomologist follows terms of the Creative Commons, Attribution Non-Commercial License (cc by-nc). By submitting and publishing articles in Florida Entomologist, authors grant the FOJ and Florida Entomologist's host institutions permission to make the article available through Internet posting and electronic dissemination, and to otherwise archive the information contained both electronically and in a hard printed version. When used, information and images obtained from articles must be referenced and cited appropriately. Articles may be reproduced for personal, educational, or archival purposes, or any non-commercial use. Permission should be sought from the author(s) for multiple, non-commercial reproduction. Written permission from the author(s) is required for any commercial reproduction.