Cold Hardiness of Asian Longhorned Beetle (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae) Larvae in Different Populations

Abstract

The Asian longhorned beetle, Anoplophora glabripennis (Motschulsky) (Coleoptera: Cerambycidae), is distributed widely in China, where it causes severe damage to forests, and is a quarantine pest in Europe, the United States, and Canada. A. glabripennis overwinters as dormant larvae to avoid adverse environmental conditions. To elucidate the cold hardiness of A. glabripennis larvae, the supercooling point (SCP), freezing point (FP), and cold hardiness-related compounds were examined in overwintering larva from five populations in China (Yili, Yanchi, Wulateqianqi, Beijing, and Dezhou). The results showed that the SCP and FP differed significantly among populations, where the SCP of larvae in the Wulateqianqi population was the lowest and highest in the Beijing population. The water, fat, and glycogen contents also differed significantly among the five populations. The SCPs of larvae from all five populations were proportional to glycogen contents, but had no association with water contents and fat contents. The total contents of seven low-molecular weight compounds (glycerol, galactose, glucose, mannose, sorbitol, inositol, and trehalose) differed significantly among populations. Thus, A. glabripennis larvae from different geographical populations contained different sugars or sugar alcohols (especially glycerol, glucose, sorbitol, and trehalose), which helped them to resist cold temperatures. This study provides basic information about that may facilitate the prediction of distribution range expansions and ensure proper implementation of the integrated management of A. glabripennis populations.