The effects of ambient temperature on the duration of maternal care in a burrower bug (Heteroptera: Cydnidae)

Females of the subsocial burrower bug, Sehirus cinctus (Heteroptera: Cydnidae), terminate egg care after a predictable interval when eggs do not hatch. This study examined the influence of ambient temperature by presenting maternal females with immature stimulus eggs under various thermal regimes. Females housed in warmer temperatures terminated care earlier than females at cooler temperatures, suggesting that duration of care is associated with the rate of embryogenesis. The results of this study suggest that female S. cinctus use a temperature-regulated mechanism to determine the duration of maternal care, and provide the first evidence that subsocial behavior is influenced by thermal cues.