ArticleOecologia2016
A dark cuticle allows higher investment in immunity, longevity and fecundity in a beetle upon a simulated parasite attack.
Article in Oecologia, 2016. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 11 papers.
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Who cites it
11 citing papers in PubMed.
- Genomics and reproductive biology of Leptopilina malgretoutensis (sp. nov.): an asexual parasitoid of Caribbean Drosophila.Genetics · 2026Article
- Macronutrient balance dictates lifespan and reproduction in a beetle, Tenebrio molitor.The Journal of experimental biology · 2025Article
- Juvenile responses to immune challenges are not carried through to subsequent life stages in an insect.Scientific reports · 2024Article
- Resource-based trade-offs and the adaptive significance of seasonal plasticity in butterfly wing melanism.Ecology and evolution · 2024Article
- Immune function differences between two color morphs of the red palm weevilEcology and evolution · 2021Article
- Immune Defenses of a Beneficial Pest: The Mealworm Beetle,Frontiers in physiology · 2019Review
- Ecological Stoichiometry: A Link Between Developmental Speed and Physiological Stress in an Omnivorous Insect.Frontiers in behavioral neuroscience · 2019Article
- Colors of night: climate-morphology relationships of geometrid moths along spatial gradients in southwestern China.Oecologia · 2018Article
- Morphological and biological characterization of a light-colored mutant in the multicolored Asian lady beetle,Ecology and evolution · 2018Article
- The more the merrier: Conspecific density improves performance of gregarious larvae and reduces susceptibility to a pupal parasitoid.Ecology and evolution · 2017Article
- Article
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Authors and funding
8 authors.
Funding
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Abstract
Cuticle melanism in insects is linked to a number of life history traits: a positive relationship is hypothesized between melanism, immune function, fecundity and lifespan. However, it is not clear how activation of the immune system affects trade-offs between life history traits in female mealworm beetles (Tenebrio molitor) differing in cuticle melanization. The females with tan, brown and black cuticles examined in the present study did not differ in the intensity of encapsulation response, fecundity and longevity when their immune system was not activated. However, we found that immune activation and cuticle melanization have a significant effect on life history traits. Offspring number and lifespan decreased in females with tan and brown cuticles, while the fecundity and lifespan of black females were not affected. Importantly, we inserted the implants again and found a significant decrease in the strength of encapsulation response in females with tan and brown cuticles. In contrast, black females increased melanotic reactions against the nylon implant, suggesting immunological priming. The results show that cuticle melanization plays an important adaptive role under the risk of being infected, while the lack of these benefits before the insertion of nylon monofilaments suggests that there are costs associated with an activated immunity system.
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