ABSTRACT
Temperature is one of the principal factors delimitating survival and reproduction of insects and mites. Temperature extremes are a cause of significant natural mortality in populations and offer a rich potential that can be exploited for the development of environmentally safe pest management strategies. The omnipresence of temperature stress has resulted in a wealth of physiological and behavioral adaptations that have evolved to ameliorate or avoid the Ml brunt of high or low environmental temperatures. Pest management through temperature manipulation is receiving renewed interest as a non-chemical method which poses no residue problem. The successful application of temperature to integrated pest management is enhanced by an increased understanding of the physiology of insect sensitivity to temperature extremes, and especially the effect of variables such as nutrition, humidity, and host, in modifying the reaction. Temperature can exert subtle influences on plants that, in turn, influence the success of insect herbivores.
