To gain insight into the comparative function in stress response of HSPs in insects, three HSP cDNAs were cloned from the fat body of the beet armyworm Spodoptera exigua (Lepidoptera, Noctuidae). SexHSP70, SexHSP74 and SexHSP83 cDNAs encoding the protein of 667, 685 and 717 amino acids, with the pI of 5.52, 5.75 and 5.02, respectively. Northern blotting revealed that all three SexHSP mRNAs are expressed in the fat body, mid-gut, spermary and tracheae. SexHSP70, SexHSP74and SexHSP83 mRNAs were expressed in the fat body and whole body at different levels during different developmental stages. The three SexHSP transcripts were highly expressed in the fat body on the first day of fifth instar larvae, on the fourth and seventh days of the pupa stage, and in the whole body on the initial stages of larvae. Under heat and cold shock conditions, SexHSP70 and SexHSP83 mainly functioned during heat shock and cooling and SexHSP83 also had a function in the recovery stage. SexHSP74 had important functions in short-term heat shock and recovery, as well as long-term cooling. The results revealed that long-term shocking can affect SexHSP74 and SexHSP83 expression and long-term cooling can influence SexHSP83 expression during the recovery stage. Published by Elsevier Inc.