Diapause induction under greenhouse conditions in two populations of Dicyphus hesperus (Hemiptera: Miridae)

The effects of daylength on induction of reproductive diapause were investigated in two populations of Dicyphus hesperus to determine which was more suitable as a biological control in greenhouses without supplemental light. A population from British Columbia Canada (49°36' N Lat.) had a critical daylength of about 15.5 h, whereas that of a population from California, USA (35°43' N Lat.) was between 14.0 and 13.5 h. Under natural daylengths in greenhouses at 49°N Lat., females of both populations exhibited reproductive diapause at a daylength that was consistent with their respective critical daylengths. In spring, a lower proportion of both populations diapaused when exposed to diapause-inducing conditions than in autumn. Reproductive diapause of the females of the BC population was 100% in autumn, but half of those females laid eggs when held in the greenhouse for 6 weeks. A maximum of 63% of females of the California population diapaused in autumn, and most began to lay eggs after 2 weeks. The differences in response to daylength presumably reflect differences between the two localities in the reliability of the critical daylength as a predictor of conditions unsuitable for growth and reproduction. Under greenhouse conditions the California population is essentially non-diapausing, and would be the more suitable of the two populations for use as a biological control agent.