Timing of diapause induction outside the natural distribution range of a species: an outdoor experiment with the bean bug Riptortus clavatus

Abstract

AbstractThe phytophagous bug Riptortus clavatus (Thunberg) (Heteroptera: Alydidae) produces two or three generations per year in Central Japan and overwinters in the adult stage. In bugs from the Kyoto population (35°00′ N, 135°45′ E), we studied (1) the effects of day‐length on the nymphal and preoviposition periods under constant photoperiod at 20.5 °C, and (2) photoperiodic induction of adult diapause at 20.5 °C and under a combination of constant photoperiod and natural daily rhythm of temperature in the forest‐steppe zone of Russia (50°38′ N, 35°58′ E). Then, we examined (3) the timing of diapause induction under quasi‐natural conditions in the same region, far outside the species' natural geographical range. At 20.5 °C, the nymphal period in both males and females was significantly longer under regimes with shorter photophases than under those with longer photophases. The preoviposition period in females was significantly longer under the near‐critical long‐day regime L14:D10 than under typical long‐day regimes (L15:D9, L16:D8, and L17:D7). The critical day‐length for diapause induction was shorter under conditions of natural daily rhythm of temperature than those reported at constant 20, 25, and 30 °C. Under quasi‐natural conditions in the forest‐steppe zone, R. clavatus entered diapause in September, much later than the local populations of true bugs studied to date. This experiment showed that R. clavatus was maladapted to new environmental conditions: diapause was induced too late with the result that all or most nymphs hatched in late August or early September will die.