Induction of adult diapause in Pyrrhocoris apterus L. by short cold exposure.

Abstract

The ripening of ovaries in the females of Pyrrhocoris apterus can be inhibited not only by short-day photoperiod but also by cold shocks during the first week of the adult life.Ovaries in a part of the females are prevented from ripening by transferring the bugs from 25° C and long-day photoperiod to substantially lower temperatures for 2 (or 4) days. The oviposition is inhibited at least for 3 weeks after the return to original conditions favourable for reproduction. This effect is achieved when cold treatment is combined either with darkness or with long day. A difference between 2 and 4 days of chilling was not recorded. The effect of cold exposure (evaluated in our experiments by the proportion of mature and immature females) depends on the temperature of the cold exposure and on the age of females at the time of transfer to cold. The incidence of immature females was higher when lower temperatures (+2 to +6° C) were used and when females were transferred to cold early (0-2 days) after the adult moult.