  Larvae of the blackspotted pliers support beetle, Rhagium mordax, express
antifreeze proteins in their haemolymph during temperate climate winter. It is
believed that they also express antifreeze proteins in their cuticle as a means
of preventing inoculative freezing. Larvae of Rhagium mordax were collected
during winter (March) and summer (May) of 2011. Larvae were fixated, embedded
in paraffin wax, sectioned on a microtome, incubated with custom made anti-AFP
antibodies and isualised on a fluorescence microscope. The larvae of both
winter and summer showed AFP activity in their cuticle, gut lumen and
-epithelium. Due to the long synthesis process of AFPs, the larvae contain them
all year round. The distribution of these AFPs change during summer, possibly
relocating to vesicles in the cuticle and gut lumen/epithelium.
