Population and trait dynamics of hosts and parasitoids from an 18-month microcosm experiment under gradually increasing temperature to plus 2 or 4 degrees Celsius
https://doi.org/10.5285/e5958a3f-af7a-4d90-abd7-eeaba98aca8b
Download/Access
This dataset is available under the terms of the Open Government Licence
By accessing or using this dataset, you agree to the terms of the relevant licence agreement(s). You will ensure that this dataset is cited in any publication that describes research in which the data have been used.
This dataset contains population and trait dynamic and life history data of the host organism Indian meal moth Plodia interpunctella, and its parasitoide wasp Venturia canescens in response to temperature changes, from an 18-month microcosm experiment. Variables in this dataset include weekly dead adult count of hosts or parasitoids, leg length (proxy to adult body size), and multi-variate life history measures (survival, development time, sizes). During the experiment, lines of hosts, with or without parasitoids, were exposed to gradual increases in temperature at either +2 or +4 degrees celsius over 18 months, in the presence or absence of stochastic fluctuations. This dataset was created as part of a study to investigate the impact of long-term climate warming on generational multispecies interactions, The data will be beneficial for any studies related to population cycles, long-term dynamics, density-dependence responses and climate change projection.
Publication date: 2026-02-23
318 views
Format
Comma-separated values (CSV)
Temporal information
Temporal resolution
daily
Provenance & quality
Data were collected by manually removing and counting dead adults from the microcosm experiment. The following well-established laboratory protocols were used to ensure minimum sampling errors:
1) A small insect hoover tube was used to separate live adults from dead adults prior to the counting procedure.
2) Dead adults were picked using forecepts and the removed dead insects were counted using a hand tally counter.
3) All fragments of dead insects were cleaned ensuring no duplicated counts.
4) The side and edge of the microcosms were checked by the second person ensuring no missing counts each week.
5) Live adults in the hoover tube were placed back to the microcosm after counting.
1) A small insect hoover tube was used to separate live adults from dead adults prior to the counting procedure.
2) Dead adults were picked using forecepts and the removed dead insects were counted using a hand tally counter.
3) All fragments of dead insects were cleaned ensuring no duplicated counts.
4) The side and edge of the microcosms were checked by the second person ensuring no missing counts each week.
5) Live adults in the hoover tube were placed back to the microcosm after counting.
Licensing and constraints
This dataset is available under the terms of the Open Government Licence 
Cite this dataset as:
Li, D.; Coste, C.F.D.; Newton, J.; Yuan, C.; Fowler, M.S.; Sait, S.M. (2026). Population and trait dynamics of hosts and parasitoids from an 18-month microcosm experiment under gradually increasing temperature to plus 2 or 4 degrees Celsius. NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/e5958a3f-af7a-4d90-abd7-eeaba98aca8b
Correspondence/contact details
Other contacts
Publisher
NERC EDS Environmental Information Data Centre
info@eidc.ac.uk
Rights holder
Swansea University
Rights holder
University of Leeds