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High-Throughput Assays of Critical Thermal Limits in Insects
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Genetic Variation for Thermal Adaptation in a Cosmopolitan Stored Product Pest
Rosa M McGuire1, Priyanga Amarasekare1
1Department of Ecology and Evolutionary Biology, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, USA.
Ecology Letters
|November 26, 2025
Summary
Genetic variation in bean beetles shows that maturation rate limits adaptation to climate warming. This has implications for insect pests, crop damage, and food security.
Area of Science:
- Ecology
- Evolutionary Biology
- Climate Change Biology
Background:
- Ectotherm adaptation to climate warming relies on genetic variation.
- Insect pests adapting to warming pose risks to agriculture and food security.
Purpose of the Study:
- Quantify genetic variation in thermal reaction norms of life history traits in the bean beetle (Callosobruchus maculatus).
- Measure genetic variation in fitness, using the temperature response of the intrinsic growth rate.
Main Methods:
- Studied the bean beetle (Callosobruchus maculatus), a cosmopolitan stored product pest.
- Analyzed genetic variation in life history traits and fitness across a temperature range.
Main Results:
- Maturation rate, under biochemical control, showed the least genetic variation.
- Birth rate, under regulatory feedback, exhibited the greatest genetic variation.
- Genetic variation in fitness was constrained by the thermal reaction norm for maturation.
Conclusions:
- Maturation rate may be the primary limiting factor for ectotherm adaptation to climate warming.
- Understanding genetic variation in pests is crucial for predicting agricultural impacts of climate change.
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