Seasonal aspects of the life cycles of pseudoscorpions (Arachnida, Pseudoscorpiones)

Abstract

Analysis of available information on the seasonal features of life cycles in pseudoscorpions (Arachnida, Pseudoscorpiones) shows that in the temperate climate of Europe with distinct seasonality, the development of these peculiar arachnids can be either eurychronous (= homodynamic), with a poorly pronounced seasonal arrangement, or stenochronous (= heterodynamic), with a distinct seasonal arrangement. This is similar to some other arachnids, particularly spiders and harvestmen. Eurychronous pseudoscorpions are characterized by the approximately year-round development (quite often with winter activity in the whole or part of the population), an overlapping of consecutive generations, the presence of alternative development with or without the dormant state (at all the postembryonic life cycle stages), lack of brood chamber production by females, and the start of free-living life at the protonymphal stage. Stenochronous pseudoscorpions, on the contrary, possess clearly arranged (usually univoltine) development with overwintering deutonymphs and tritonymphs (more rarely adults), a clear separation of adjacent generations, the production of brood chambers where the regressive protonymphs develop until their molt into deutonymphs, and the start of free-living life at the deutonymphal stage. These two types of life cycles are exemplified by two pseudoscorpions from South England, namely Neobisium muscorum with eurychronous development, and Chthonius orthodactylus with stenochronous, univoltine development (Goddard, 1976). There is no correlation between the taxonomic position and the seasonal characters of life cycles in representatives of Neobisiidae, Chthoniidae, and Chernetidae. There is, instead, a close connection between the eco-physiological state of these arachnids and the type of their gas exchange (continuous, diffusive and non-cyclic in the active state, as opposed to discontinuous, with cyclic emission of CO2 and uptake of O2 in the dormant state). The latter information may be useful for distinguishing different kinds of dormancy (diapause and quiescence) in these arachnids.