Effects of photoperiod and temperature on reproductive diapause in Ophraella communa (Coleoptera: Chrysomelidae), a potential biocontrol agent against Ambrosia artemisiifolia

Abstract To investigate the seasonal adaptation strategies of Ophraella communa to new habitats, the effects and regulation mechanisms of photoperiod and temperature on the reproductive diapause in a population collected from Changsha, Hunan were examined. Adults showed obvious reproductive diapause, which was regulated by photoperiod and temperature. At 30°C, there was no adult diapause occurring under either long‐day or short‐day conditions; at 25°C the pre‐oviposition period was short and fecundity was high in adult females under L : D 16 : 8 h, whereas under L : D 12 : 12 h, a few females entered reproductive diapause; at 20°C under short‐day conditions, all female adults entered diapause. The pre‐oviposition period was significantly prolonged when the pupae and adults were transferred from long‐days to short‐days, but the day length influence was not obvious when they were transferred only in the adult stage. However, the fecundity dropped greatly no matter whether the photoperiod shifted to short‐days only in the adult stage or whether the shift occurred in both the pupal and adult stage. The fecundity was extremely low when photoperiod shifted from long‐days to short‐days in both pupal and adult stages. This was an indication that the pupal and adult stages were the photoperiod‐sensitive stage for adult reproductive diapause. This was especially true for the photoperiod in the pupal stage, which has a distinctly significant regulative effect on reproductive diapause. Additionally, this article also addresses the reason for different photoperiodic response patterns in reproductive diapause induction between the Changsha strain and the Tsukuba strain (Japan) of O. communa.