Drosophilid cuticle pigmentation impacts body temperature

Citations Over Time

Abstract

Abstract Cuticle pigmentation has been clearly demonstrated to impact body temperature for several relatively large species of insects, but it was questioned for small insects. Here we used a thermal camera to assess the impact of drosophilid cuticle pigmentation on body temperature when individuals are exposed to light. We compared mutants of large effects within species ( Drosophila melanogaster ebony and yellow mutants). Then we analyzed the impact of naturally occurring pigmentation variation within species complexes ( Drosophila americana/Drosophila novamexicana and Drosophila yakuba/Drosophila santomea ). Finally we analyzed lines of D. melanogaster with moderate differences in pigmentation. We found significant differences in temperatures for each of the four pairs we analyzed. The temperature differences appeared to be proportional to the differently pigmented area: between Drosophila melanogaster ebony and yellow mutants or between Drosophila americana and Drosophila novamexicana , for which the whole body is differently pigmented, the difference in temperatures was around 0.6°C ±0.2°C. By contrast, between D. yakuba and D. santomea or between Drosophila melanogaster Dark and Pale lines, for which only the posterior abdomen is differentially pigmented, we detected a temperature difference of about 0.14°C ±0.10°C. This demonstrates that cuticle pigmentation has ecological implications in drosophilids regarding adaptation to environmental temperature.

Related Papers

• → New Record for the Invasive Spotted Wing Drosophila, Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura, 1931) (Diptera: Drosophilidae) in Anillaco, Western Argentina(2017)28 cited
• → Efficacy and Species Specificity of Baits and Lures for Spotted-Wing Drosophila, Drosophila suzukii (Diptera: Drosophilidae)(2022)11 cited
• → Survey of hanging and fallen cherry fruit use by spotted wing drosophila,Drosophila suzukii(Matsumura, 1931) (Diptera: Drosophilidae), and other Drosophilidae species(2015)11 cited
• → Spotted Wing Drosophila Drosophila suzukii (Matsumura) (Insecta: Diptera: Drosophilidae)(2011)12 cited
• → First Report of Spotted Wing Drosophila,Drosophila suzukiiMatsumura (Diptera: Drosophilidae) in Kansas(2015)4 cited