Components of Evaporative Water Loss in the Desert Tenebrionid Beetles Eleodes armata and Cryptoglossa verrucosa

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Abstract
Water loss in Eleodes armata and Cryptoglossa verrucosa increased with increasing temperature and decreasing vapor activity ( ). Rates of evaporative water loss were always about four times greater in E. armata than in C. verrucosa at the different temperatures and 0.0 , while as increased the ratio of E. armata loss to C. verrucosa decreased from four at 0.0 to about two at 0.94 . A method for determining mesothoracic spiracular, subelytral abdominal, and cuticular water-loss rates was described and validated for living E. armata. Subelytral abdominal water loss through the caudal opening was 8.0 mg H₂O (g·day)⁻¹, mesothoracic spiracular water loss was approximately 7.9 mg H₂ (g·day)⁻¹, and cuticular loss was 26.2 mg H₂O (g·day)⁻¹ at 30 C and 0.0 . Evaporative water loss was shown to have two unidirectional components, efflux and influx, for both beetles with the use of tritiated water (H³HO). Efflux was independent of , while influx increased linearly with , with both components having lower rates in C. verrucosa compared with E. armata.