Photoperiodic counter of diapause induction in Pseudopidorus fasciata (Lepidoptera: Zygaenidae)

Abstract

Induction of larval diapause is a photoperiodically controlled event in the life history of the moth Pseudopidorus fasciata. In the present study, the photoperiodic counter of diapause induction has been systematically investigated. The required day number (RDN) for a 50% response was determined by transferring from a short night (LD 16:8) to a long night (LD 12:12) or vice versa at different times after hatching, The RND differed significantly between short- and long-night cycles at different temperatures. The RDN for long-night cycles at 20, 22, 25 and 28 °C was 11.5, 9.5, 7.5 and 8.5 days, respectively. The RDN for short-night cycles was 3 days at 22 °C and 5 days at 20 °C indicating that the effect of one short night was equivalent to the effect of 2–3 long nights effect. Night-interruption experiments of 24 h photoperiods by a 1 h light pulse showed that the most crucial event for the photoperiodic time measurement in this moth was whether the length of pre-interruption ( D 1) or the post-interruption ( D 2) scotophases exceeded the critical night length (10.5 h). If D 1 or D 2 exceeded 10.5 h diapause was induced. The diapause-averting effect of a single short-night cycle (LD 16:8) against a background of long nights (LD 12:12) showed that the photoperiodic sensitivity was greatest during the first 7 days of the larval period and the highest sensitivity was on the fourth day. Both non-24 and 24 h light-dark cycle experiments revealed that the photoperiodic counter in P. fasciata is able to accumulate both long and short nights during the photosensitive period, but in different ways. The information from short-night cycles seems to be accumulated one by one in contrast to long-night cycles where six successive cycles were necessary for about 50% diapause induction and eight cycles for about 90% diapause. These results suggest the accumulation of long-night and short-night cycles may be based on different mechanisms.