The role of the main photophase on dark-time measurement used for diapause determination in the Indian meal moth, Plodia interpunctella

Abstract.  The Indian meal moth Plodia interpunctella Hubner (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae) measures night length and enters diapause as a last-instar larva. To examine the role of photophase on dark-time measurement, the main LD 7 : 17 h photoperiod is disrupted by various lengths of darkness at 25 °C. When the light phase is not disrupted, the incidence of diapause is 76%. As the dark pulse disrupting a 7-h photophase becomes longer, the incidence of diapause decreases. To detect the dynamic kinetics of the time-measuring process, the main scotophase of 17 h is scanned by a 2-h light pulse. When the dark pulse in a 7-h photophase is fixed at 1 h after dawn and its duration is varied systematically from 1 to 3 h, or when the end of the dark pulse is fixed at 1 h before dusk, diapause is prevented completely by a 2-h light pulse inserted in the middle of 17-h darkness. These results are compared with those of a single night interruption of a 17-h scotophase with a 2-h light pulse but with an intact 7-h photophase. The disruption of a 7-h photophase by a dark pulse shifts the descending and ascending slopes of the response curve to some extent toward dawn and dusk, respectively, indicating that the dark pulse tends to shorten the critical length of dark time for diapause induction. When the main photophase (7 h) is interrupted by a 1-h dark pulse at 3–4 h after dawn, the 2-h scanning light pulse in the main scotophase (17 h) appears to act effectively as a dusk signal in the early scotophase. However, those in the mid- and late scotophase do not define the critical night length from dusk as sharply as for the critical night length from a 2-h light pulse to dawn. The results indicate the importance of photophase in the dark-time measurement.