Turning Up the Heat on Pest Insect Reproduction: Optimising Thermal Control in Dry Food Storage Facilities

储藏品害虫严重损害全球粮食生产，特别是在发展中国家。控制这些害虫的化学方法要么因为健康问题或环境破坏而受到管制，要么随着抗药性的演变而变得不那么有效。因此，迫切需要寻找新的害虫管理方法。当60摄氏度的温度被用来在封闭的设施中杀死昆虫时，热控正在越来越多地被使用。然而，这可能会带来高昂的能源成本，并造成附带损害。该项目将研究如何通过繁殖过程中的热敏感性，利用较低的极端温度来控制关键害虫，从而实现更经济有效的管理。实验室实验将被用来研究不同昆虫种群的不同热状况如何影响一些关键储存产品害虫的繁殖、恢复、生存和侵扰潜力，并将研究结果扩大到更大的储存设施。

Stored product insect pests seriously damage global food production, especially in developing countries. Chemical methods to control these pests are either becoming regulated due to health concerns or environmental damage or have become less effective as resistance evolves. New methods of pest management are therefore urgently sought. Thermal control is being increasingly used, when 60oC temperatures are applied to kill insects in contained facilities. However, this can be energetically expensive and cause collateral damage. The project will examine how less extreme temperatures can be used to control key pests through thermal sensitivities within reproduction, enabling more economically effective management. Lab experiments will be used to study how different thermal regimes with different insect populations influence reproduction, recovery, survival and potential to infest in some key stored product pests, scaling findings up to larger storage facilities.