Growth Chambers for Entomology Research

Entomology’s Role in Agriculture

The relationship between insects and plants is both complex and dynamic, shaped by more than 400 million years of coevolution. Insects have evolved ways to detect and find host plants while plants have coevolved defense and luring mechanisms such as the release of volatile compounds to protect themselves and to attract beneficial insects such as pollinators [1]. In agricultural settings the relationship of insects with crop plants is critical. Monoculture agriculture produces much of our food. While this standard agricultural system offers abundant crop yields it makes crops more vulnerable to insect attacks and subsequently can pose a threat to food security.

Why Insect Research Matters for Sustainable, Productive Crops

There is global consensus that entomological research is critical to mitigate the challenges of the 21st century. In 2017, the Entomological Society of America (ESA) initiated the ‘Grand Challenges in Entomology’ Project [2]. The goal was to identify and resolve insect-related problems in the areas of 1) Public Health, 2) Feed the World and 3) Invasive Species. The first challenge involved vector-borne diseases that can cause more than a million deaths annually, the second is the challenge in agriculture due to insect-related crop loss and the third examines the economic burden posed by invasive insect species. To complement this project the UK-based Royal Entomological Society (RES) planned their own ‘Grand Challenge’ where over 700 challenges were gathered from 189 RES members [3]. Three of the eleven entomological challenges identified are increasing the understanding of the impact of climate change on crop diseases and outbreaks, improving pest control practices in agriculture and the discovery of more environmentally friendly approaches to pest control [4]. The four most urgent global challenges in entomology that require more intensive research have been reported to be climate change, land-use change, insect species invasions and the loss of biodiversity [5].

Current Challenges: Climate change & Shifting Pest Dynamics

Climate change with respect to rising temperatures, increased atmospheric CO2 and changing and more frequent precipitation patterns have been shown to impact insect pests as well as crop productivity. Higher temperatures result in increased insect survival rates during overwintering, increased number of generations per year, expansion of geographic distributions, altered synchrony between plants and pests, increased incidences of insect-transmitted plant diseases, reduced effectiveness of biological control agents and natural pest enemies among others [6]. Elevated atmospheric CO2 levels impact insect pests and crop plants simultaneously. Increased atmospheric CO2 levels increase the C:N ratios in leaves of many crops which can result in the consumption by insects of more leaf material to compensate for the decreased leaf nitrogen concentrations [7]. Nitrogen is an important element for crop and insect growth and development and can be increased to compensate for high C:N ratios. It has been reported however that high nitrogen applications encourage aphid feeding on wheat while simultaneously suppressing resistance mechanisms in wheat resistant cultivars [8]. (Figure 1).

Rationale for Integrating Controlled Environment Studies

How well can controlled‑environment insect-plant research capture the interactions we observe in the field? Studies conducted on an orchid species from Sweden that depend on nocturnal pollinators and an orchid species from Norway that depend on diurnal pollinators were conducted in the field and controlled environment chambers [9]. The composition and timing of floral scents typically match the pollinator species and their time of activity. Growth chamber results indicated that the scent composition of the nocturnal and diurnal orchids in nature differed, and this corroborated with the field data indicating that this was under genetic control rather than due to differences in their local environments [9]. This also suggests that growth chamber entomological research can be applied to what is occurring in nature.

The Link Between Insects and Crop Production

Pollination & Beneficial Insects

In addition to concerns about climate related crop loss due to pests, pollination is a global concern in the face of climate change. Insect pollinators are critical for food security as approximately 72% of the world’s crops are dependent on pollination. There are hundreds of different insect pollinators including, solitary bees, bumblebees, flies, beetles and butterflies [10]. It is estimated that 25% of global crop yields will be affected by poor pollination rates [11,12,13]. When researching pollination rates on selected crop plants in a controlled environment growth chambers the temperature, relative humidities, CO2 levels and timing can be precisely controlled to optimize or test isolated detrimental environmental effects on pollination success.

Climate change also impacts beneficial insects. Pests are suppressed by natural insect enemies however it has been observed that warmer temperatures affect beneficial insect behavior through phenological mismatching between pest and their natural enemies [14]. For instance, a ten year study revealed that in warmer spring temperatures the leaf beetle cereal pest, Oulema melanopsis, laid eggs and their larval populations developed earlier however its natural parasitic wasp enemy, Tetrastichus julis, was not affected which reduced control of this parasitic association [15].

Pest Management & Crop Protection

Controlled environment research is critical to better understand the impact that individual and combined environmental parameters have on crop production in response to global and local climate change. The development of future pest management strategies is necessary for food security across the globe. Without new pest control measures global crop damage could surge to 50-80% [16]. The areas of focus that need examining in controlled environments are new pest management strategies, new insecticide formulations, their persistence in nature, the development of insecticide resistance, and more importantly the development of pest-resistant crop varieties [6,17]. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO), breeding for pest and disease resistance is the most practical solution for crop adaptation to climate change and this can be achieved in growth chambers before potentially risky application to the field.

Why Entomology Research is Critical

Global Food Security Challenges

Every year up to 40% of global crop production is lost to insect damage, although severe infestations can cause 100% yield loss [18]. In addition to crop losses, insect pests can contribute to physical deformities, discoloration, altered flavor and nutritional profiles [19]. It is estimated that for the period of 1996-1998 crop losses due to insect pests was 26-30% for sugar beet, wheat, barley soybean and cotton, 35% for maize, 39% for potatoes and 40% for rice [16]. The loss of crops to insect pests is estimated to increase significantly due to climate change [20]. Similarly, forests are undergoing a health crisis due to climate change and the subsequent increase in insect pest damage [21,22].

Integrated Pest Management Strategies

Integrated pest management relies on several strategies including preventative methods such as sanitation and crop rotation, biological control, chemical control and crop resistance to pests. The latter three components are particularly suited to growth chamber research. To date many proposed pest and integrated pest management strategies are based on models but need to be fine-tuned to improve accuracy which can be done rapidly in controlled environment growth chambers before integration into the field [23].

Growth Chambers for Insect Rearing & Research

Insect rearing in controlled environments is used for mass rearing of beneficial insects for release into the fields, rearing of insects as a potential food source or rearing insects for use in fundamental research. The latter can advance the knowledge of pest and plant interactive responses to climate change, resistance of pests to insecticides, plant resistance to pests and the effectiveness of beneficial insects in pest control strategies [24]. The use of controlled environment chambers is useful to study isolated or combined environmental stresses while providing the advantage of reproducibility of the experiments. Research on plant and insect interactions is multidisciplinary and requires growing plants and rearing insects before introducing them to each other. With respect to insects, they must be reared in controlled temperature, humidity, gas exchange, light (intensity, spectrum and photoperiod) conditions and be protected from contaminating microbes [25,26]. Insect diets are also critical for success, and many species-specific diet protocols have been developed and are available in a special edition of the Journal of Insect Science [27].

Insects are poikilotherms, meaning they cannot regulate their own body temperature. Because their optimal temperature and humidity ranges are species specific, these conditions must be carefully controlled to support proper insect growth and development.[28]. In general, temperature ranges should be between 20 and 35°C with temperature variations as little as 2 or 3°C affecting the timing of insect developmental stages. Humidity ranges are typically between 55% to 75% [28]. Airflow and air exchange is important to maintain acceptable humidities, stable temperatures and removal of waste gases. Although the effects of light intensity, quality and photoperiod on diapause and insect growth require more investigation, intensity is species specific with a good rule of thumb to match the light in their natural habitat during the various developmental stages [25,26]. A controlled environment growth chamber study (PGW 36) equipped with cool white fluorescent and incandescent lamps examined light intensity and photoperiod on the effectiveness of two whitefly parasitoids, Encarsia formosa and Eretmocerus eremicus, on tomato whitefly infestations [29]. Whitefly mortality was greatest at 24°C, high light intensities (82.0-83.6 W/m2) and photoperiods of 16h day/8h night relative to 20°C, lower light intensities (10.8-11.1 W/m2) and shorter days of 8h day/16h night [29].

Spectral distribution of light sources has been largely overlooked in entomological research until recently when spectrally tunable LED lights became available. Matching photoreceptor sensitivities for insects can help optimize rearing and experimental conditions. Spectral sensitivities differ among insects due to different visual pigments and photoreceptor anatomies. Photoreceptor spectral sensitivities for 221 insect species in 82 genera of 13 orders can be found in van der Kooi et. al. (2020) [30].

The Effect of Spectrum on Pollinators

Pollinator bees have photoreceptors in the UV, blue and green regions of the spectrum (Figure 2). It has been shown that bees perform similarly or better in the presence of UV however UV can increase the incidence of plant diseases such as grey mold. The absence of UV does not appear to negatively affect bee behavior and does not always impact fruit yield [31,32]. Blue light between 430-480 nm rather than 400-420 nm improves color detection and sensing of flowers by bees [33]. Green light photoreceptors are more numerous than either UV or blue photoreceptors, they have the fastest response times and are used to detect brightness, motion and contrast [34]. In tomatoes, the inclusion of far-red light in the spectrum can alter flower traits such as floral volatiles, the number of fruits per truss and the acceleration of flowering that encourage bee visits [35]. With respect to intensity, Koppert recommends a minimum of 28 W/m2 of PAR light (128 mmol/m2/s sunlight) with approximately 30-40 mmol/m2/s in the distinct UV, blue and green portions of the spectrum.

Entomological Case Study in Growth Chambers

Genetic & phenotypic responses of temperature-independent Hessian fly-resistant durum wheat to larval attack during heat stress, BMC, Plant Biology, 2025

The Hessian fly (HF), Mayetiola destructor (Say), a dipteran gall midge, is a major destructive pest of wheat but can also parasitize other cereals such as rye, barley, oat, rice and wild grasses [36]. This insect pest has worldwide economic consequences which disturbs food security. Identifying, breeding and selecting resistant wheat accessions is viewed as the most economically favorable strategy to prevent yield loss by this pest. For each 1°C rise in temperature yields will be reduced by 10-25%. Higher temperatures have been shown to negatively impact resistance of wheat to HF and the screening of 254 wheat accessions revealed that ten accessions displayed HF resistance at 20°C with only three maintaining resistance at 30°C[36]. A further study by this group followed up HF resistance at higher temperatures at the molecular and morphological levels (Figure 3).

Wheat accessions that were resistant to HF at 20°C and susceptible at 30°C and vice versa, were grown in Conviron growth chambers to isolate the temperature effect on both wheat growth and HF resistance [37]. After inoculation with HF, plants and uninfested control plants were shifted from growth chambers set at 20°C to those set at 30°C. Morphology and feeding frequency were examined. These studies identified several wheat accessions that would retain HF resistance and good growth in a warming climate which offers a valuable resource for wheat growers and plant breeders (Figure 3). The temperature-independent resistant wheat accessions were resistant to HF attack while maintaining a normal morphology (Figure 3A).

Recommended Growth Chambers for Entomology Research

Conviron growth chambers such as the widely cited GEN1000 and GEN2000 are used worldwide for entomology and plant–insect research thanks to their exceptionally uniform control of temperature, humidity, lighting, and airflow. These reach‑in models are adaptable to multiple research programs and can be configured specifically for insect work using phenolic‑coated refrigeration coils, which protect against corrosive insect by‑products and extend chamber life.

Entomology‑configured reach‑ins offer added confidence when working with sensitive or high‑density insect populations. Features like corrosion‑resistant coils, specialized airflow design, and compatibility with insect‑containment enclosures ensure that researchers can safely rear insects and conduct plant–insect interaction studies without compromising chamber integrity or containment.

For larger‑scale studies, Conviron walk‑in growth rooms provide expansive, field‑like environments with tightly controlled environmental parameters. These rooms allow researchers to grow full‑sized crops, study pollinators, predators, or herbivores, and conduct multi‑trophic experiments under repeatable, real‑world conditions. Their ability to mimic natural environments while maintaining precise control makes them a preferred platform for ecological, behavioral, and pollination research in controlled settings.

Entomology Research Using Conviron Growth Chambers

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