BioOne.org will be down briefly for maintenance on 14 May 2025 between 18:00-22:00 Pacific Time US. We apologize for any inconvenience.
How to translate text using browser tools
9 December 2024 Foliage age affects pupal weight and development time, but not diapause induction in the biological control agent Hypena opulenta (Lepidoptera: Erebidae)
M. Lukas Seehausen, Ian M. Jones, Sandy M. Smith, Robert S. Bourchier
Author Affiliations +
Abstract

Facultative diapause is a life history trait that allows insects to undergo continuous development when conditions are favorable or to enter diapause when they are not. Insect voltinism can have an impact on the success of a weed-biological control agent because additional generations can increase agent population growth and reduce late-season recovery in the target weed.The most common factors that cue diapause are photoperiod and temperature; however, the role of nutrition is increasingly being recognized. We conducted a laboratory experiment to examine the effects of photoperiod and foliage age on diapause induction, pupal weight, and pupal development time in Hypena opulenta (Christoph) (Lepidoptera: Erebidae), a biological control agent for invasive swallow-worts in North America. A factorial experimental design was employed whereby H. opulenta was reared at long (16:8 h light:dark) and short (12:12 h) photoperiods on young and old swallow-wort foliage (Vincetoxicum rossicum Kleopow) Barbar. (Apocynaceae). Photoperiod was the only factor that affected diapause induction in H. opulenta. While foliage age did not affect diapause induction, it did affect pupal weight and pupal development time, with older foliage resulting in lower pupal weight and extended pupal phase. In field conditions, these impacts could affect pupal mortality through reduced winter preparedness and increased exposure to predators.These results support H. opulenta voltinism models based on photoperiods and indicate that the tendency of captive-reared H. opulenta to enter diapause after 2 or 3 generations, even in the absence of short photoperiods, is not a result of changing foliage age.

M. Lukas Seehausen, Ian M. Jones, Sandy M. Smith, and Robert S. Bourchier "Foliage age affects pupal weight and development time, but not diapause induction in the biological control agent Hypena opulenta (Lepidoptera: Erebidae)," Environmental Entomology 54(1), 39-45, (9 December 2024). https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvae095
Received: 17 April 2024; Accepted: 27 November 2024; Published: 9 December 2024
JOURNAL ARTICLE
7 PAGES

This article is only available to subscribers.
It is not available for individual sale.
+ SAVE TO MY LIBRARY

KEYWORDS
biological control
diapause
foliage age
swallow-worts
RIGHTS & PERMISSIONS
Get copyright permission
Back to Top