In the context of global environmental change much of the focus has been on changing
temperatures. However, patterns of rainfall and water availability have also been changing …

Efficient water balance is key to insect success. However, the hygric environment is
changing with climate change; although there are compelling models of thermal …

Insects frequently associate with intracellular microbial symbionts (endosymbionts) that
enhance their ability to cope with challenging environmental conditions. Endosymbioses …

Insects in the field are exposed to multiple bouts of cold, and there is increasing evidence
that the fitness consequences of repeated cold exposure differ from the impacts of a single …

Rapid cold hardening (RCH) is a type of phenotypic plasticity that allows ectotherms to
quickly enhance cold tolerance in response to brief chilling (lasting minutes to hours). In this …

Terrestrial arthropods achieve waterproofing by a layer of cuticular hydrocarbons (CHCs). At
the same time, CHCs also serve as communication signals. To maintain waterproofing …

Mutations with conflicting fitness effects in males and females accumulate in sexual
populations, reducing their adaptive capacity. 1, 2 Although quantitative genetic studies …

Acclimation or hardening to one stress in arthropods can lead to a plastic response, which
confers increased resistance to other stresses. Such cross‐resistance may indicate shared …

The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster is a common animal model in ageing research. Large
populations of flies are used to study the impact of genetic, nutritional and pharmacological …

Insects have a large ratio of surface area to volume because of their small size; thus, they
face the potential for desiccation in the terrestrial environment. Nonetheless, they constitute …