Effects of temperature and modified atmospheres on diapausing 5th instar codling moth metabolism

• Both microrespirometric O2 and metabolic heat rates increased with increasing temperatures from 5 to 40 °C under regular air atmosphere.
• At 45 °C the O2 consumption and metabolic heat rates were near zero.
• At temperatures at or below 40 °C a major portion of the metabolic heat rate was supported by anaerobic metabolism.
• Under atmospheres with <2% O2 and high CO2, metabolic heat rates decreased with increasing temperature.
• Atmospheres with O2<1% and CO2>80% at temperatures ≥45 °C are effective at completely stopping both aerobic and anaerobic metabolism.

The oxygen and capacity limitation of thermal tolerance (OCLTT) has been established in aquatic insect larvae, but OCLTT has not been shown to generally apply to terrestrial insects. Previous research indicates that heat treatments in combination with high concentrations of carbon dioxide and low concentrations of oxygen may be effective for controlling diapausing codling moth, a quarantine pest in walnuts, but treatment requires long times and the killing mechanism is unknown. In this study, the effects of temperature and modified atmospheres on metabolism in diapausing 5th instar codling moth (Cydia pomonella) was investigated with multi-channel differential scanning calorimeters, one equipped with an oxygen sensor. O2 consumption and metabolic heat rates in air were measured simultaneously at isothermal temperatures from 5 to 50 °C at 5 °C intervals. Both rates increased with increasing temperatures from 5 to 40 °C. The ratio of metabolic heat rate to O2 consumption rate at temperatures ≤40 °C shows that a portion of the metabolic heat is from normal anabolic reactions of metabolism. At 45 and 50 °C in air, O2 consumption and metabolic heat rates dropped to near zero. These results indicate that treatment of walnuts in air at >45 °C for a short period of time (minutes) is effective in killing diapausing 5th instar codling moth larvae. Continuous heating scans at 0.4 °C/min were used to measure metabolic heat rates from 10 to 50 °C with air and modified atmospheres with lowered oxygen and high carbon dioxide. A rapid increase was observed in heat rates above 40 °C in scans with O2≥11%. Taken together with the isothermal results showing no metabolic heat production or oxygen uptake at 45 and 50 °C, these results demonstrate that thermal damage to cell membranes and loss of control of oxidation reactions is the lethal mechanism at high temperature when O2≥11%. The data from scans with O2≤2% and high CO2 show the effects of oxygen limitation as postulated by the OCLTT. However, CO2 anesthesia appears to protect larvae from oxygen limitation at high temperature. These results show that treatment of walnuts in air at temperatures >45 °C will rapidly kill diapausing 5th instar codling moths.