Temporal Dynamics of Bacterial Communities in Ectropis grisescens Following Cryogenic Mortality

<i>Ectropis grisescens</i> (<i>Lepidoptera</i>: <i>Geometridae</i>) is a destructive pest in tea plantations, leading to significant economic losses through defoliation. Existing control strategies, including chemical insecticides and biological agents, are often limited by environmental concerns, resistance, and variable efficacy. Recent evidence suggests that bacteria influence insect physiology and could be leveraged for pest management, but the postmortem microbial ecology of <i>E. grisescens</i> remains uncharacterized. In this study, we employed 16S rRNA sequencing to investigate temporal changes in the bacterial communities of <i>E. grisescens</i> cadavers at 0, 7, and 21 days following cryogenic mortality. Our results indicate a time-dependent decline in microbial diversity, while species richness initially increased before subsequent reduction. The dominant endosymbiont <i>Wolbachia</i> gradually diminished after host death, whereas <i>Enterobacter</i> remained abundant. Notably, non-dominant genera including <i>Lysinibacillus</i> and <i>Sporosarcina</i> exhibited a transient increase in abundance at day 7 before reverting to control levels by day 21. This study presents the first comprehensive analysis of postmortem microbial succession in a lepidopteran system, highlighting dynamic shifts in bacterial composition and offering potential avenues for microbiome-based pest management strategies.