Effects of diet and temperature on Morimus funereus larval hemolymph cation concentrations

The effects of diet and different constant temperatures on hemolymph cation concentrations (Na+, K+, Mg2+, Ca 2+) have been studied in Morimus funereus larvae collected from natural habitat, fed natural (oak or beech bark) or artificial diet, as well as in larvae reared from hatching on an artificial diet. In the hemolymph of larvae maintained under natural conditions Mg2+ was dominant, whereas Na+ concentration was very low. In their natural diets concentrations of Na+ and K+ were very low, while those of Ca2+ and Mg2+ were high. In larvae continuously reared on an artificial diet, hemolymph Mg2+ concentration was significantly decreased and Na+ concentration increased more than fourfold compared to the results obtained in oak-fed larvae. Na+ and K+ are the dominant cations in the artificial diet. The concentrations of K+ and Ca2+ in the hemolymph of larvae fed natural or artificial diet are nearly identical, suggesting the existence of an internal regulatory mechanism in this insect for these cations. The hemolymph cation concentrations of M. funereus larvae are predominantly dependent upon the diet consumed, much less upon the environmental temperatures. The most stable concentrations of cations were observed in larvae continuously fed an artificial diet and exposed to different constant temperatures. There was much less stability in the hemolymph cation concentration in oak larvae fed either natural or artificial food after their transfer to constant temperatures. With respect to the response to the external factors studied, the most sensitive are the Na+ concentrations, the most stable seems to be K+