BODY-TEMPERATURE AND THERMOREGULATION OF ANTHERAEA-ASSAMA LARVAE

Activity patterns and body temperature (T-b) and its maintenance were investigated in the 5th instar larvae of Antheraea assama Westwood (Le pidoptera: Saturniidae). These larvae thermoregulate by finding and ut ilizing favourable microenvironments and by restricting their activiti es to suitable times of the day. Further convective cooling, facilitat ed by a raised posture also serves to ameliorate T-b. Regression analy sis suggests that environmental temperature is the major determinant o f T-b along with solar radiation (SR) and wind (W).