Freezing tolerance of the New Zealand alpine weta, Hemideina maori Hutton, [Orthoptera; Stenopelmatidae]
1992
Ramlov, H. | Bedford, J. | Leader, J.
1. The New Zealand weta, Hemideina maori, is shown to withstand freezing, below its supercooling point, for at least 5 h at -9 degrees C and for at least 8 h at -8 degrees C. 2. The lower lethal temperature is about -10 degrees C. 3. Insects collected in both summer and winter are freezing tolerant. 4. Haemolymph of "winter" insects has a much higher osmotic pressure (about 700 mOsm/kg) than "summer" forms, (about 450 mOsm/kg). 5. A large contribution to this high osmolality is made by unidentified compounds, which are non-ionic, and are not carbohydrate.
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