Fat body disintegration after freezing stress is a consequence rather than a cause of freezing injury in larvae of Drosophila melanogaster.

•Fat body tissue of frozen larvae of Drosophila melanogaster rapidly disintegrates.•Fat body disintegration is a consequence rather than a cause of freezing injury.•Feeding larvae proline-augmented diet mitigates fat body disintegration.•Induction of low-temperature quiescence mitigates fat body disintegration.•Mitigation of damage is associated with changes in membrane composition.