Adaptive signifi cance of the prolonged diapause in the western Mediterranean lycaenid butterfl y Tomares ballus (Lepidoptera: Lycaenidae)
Autor
Obregón, Rafael
Jordano Barbudo, Diego
Fernández Haeger, Juan
Editor
Institute of EntomologyFecha
2017Materia
LepidopteraLycaenidae
Tomares ballus
Prolonged diapause
Evolutive adaptation
Changing environment
Competition
Parasitoids
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Diapause is a common dormancy strategy exhibited by many species of invertebrates and insects to temporarily avoid
seasonally recurring unfavourable conditions for their development, most usually in winter. Less frequently, a prolonged diapause
lasting two or more years is described in species living in unpredictable environments where it is adaptive, but with signifi cant
costs. In this paper we examine the occurrence of prolonged diapause in the lycaenid butterfl y Tomares ballus. Pupae of this
species undergo an obligate diapause from mid-May to late January the following year. However, during our rearing experiments
(from 2009 to 2016) the emergence of adults occurred sequentially and a fraction of the pupae remained in diapause for up to
seven years. The annual percentage emergence after the fi rst year of diapause was 45.6%, and only barely exceeded 50.0% in
2015. Remarkably, 12 pupae (11.4% of the initial brood) remained in diapause in their eighth year. The negative exponential equation
fi tted to the emergence data suggests that further emergences may occur within the next fi ve years. Therefore, the potential
for successful prolonged diapause of T. ballus pupae may be more than 10 years. The adaptive value of this strategy is discussed
in relation to the effects of adverse and unpredictable weather during the fl ight period of the butterfl y, intra-guild competition,
parasitoids and changes in habitat quality. We suggest that this strategy may also be exhibited by other species of Mediterranean
lycaenids