Geographic variation in photoperiodic diapause induction and diapause intensity in Sericinus montelus (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae)

Abstract

Due to the risk of extinction and ornamental value of the swallowtail butterfly, Sericinus montelus Gray (Lepidoptera: Papilionidae) in China, knowledge about local adaptations is important for the conservation and economical utilization of the species. In the present study, photoperiodic diapause induction and diapause intensity of S. montelus populations from Jiamusi (46°37′N), Beijing (40°15′N), Zibo (36°48′N), Fangxian (32°36′N), Wuhan (30°33′N) and Huaihua (27°33′N) were characterized at 25°C. Logistic regression analysis revealed a significant population × hours of light interaction, confirming that photoperiodic responses varied among populations. The critical photoperiod was positively correlated with latitude and increased toward the north at a rate of about 1 h for each 6.67 degrees of latitude. Survival analyses indicated that survival time of diapausing pupae before adult eclosion differed significantly among populations at 25°C and 16 : 8 L : D h. The mean duration of pupal diapause was also positively correlated with latitude. Our study reveals geographic variation in the critical photoperiod for diapause induction and in diapause intensity of S. montelus. These results provide useful information for our general understanding about seasonal adaptation in insects and may also be used to predict how geographic populations respond to climate warming.

Latitudinal clines: an evolutionary view on biological rhythms,

“…Positive correlations between CPP and latitude were later described in many other diapausing insects (figure 3a; reviewed by Tauber et al [8] and Danks [12]). Latitudinal clines in CPP have further been demonstrated in adult reproductive diapause in the Japanese flower bug Orius [19] and in Finnish malt flies Drosophila montana [21], in pupal diapause in the butterfly Sericinus montelus [13] and in maternally induced larval diapause in the parasitoid wasp Nasonia vitripennis [20]. The combined data reveal a general positive correlation between CPP and latitude, with an increased slope above approximately 408 N ( figure 3a).…”

Effects of photoperiod and temperature on diapause induction in Conogethes punctiferalis (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae)

“…However, in some insects the photoperiod is a critical factor influencing diapause only in a limited range of temperatures. The swallowtail butterfly, Sericinus montelus Gray showed a geographic variation in diapause induction among six populations collected between latitudes 27–46°N (Wang et al , ). Under the same temperature (25°C) treatment, critical photoperiod and mean duration of pupal diapause of S. montelus were positively correlated to the latitude of the location where the population originated.…”

Standing geographic variation in eclosion time and the genomics of host race formation inRhagoletis pomonellafruit flies

“…Similarly, whether selection has widespread genomic effects on divergence in other organisms, as it does in Rhagoletis, or has simpler genetic underpinnings and consequences for facilitating speciation, is an open question. Nevertheless, it is clear that intraspecific clinal variation in life history timing is extensive in other organisms, including plants (Blackman, Michaels, & Rieseberg, 2011;Chen et al, 2012;Kawkakami et al, 2011;Keller, Levsen, Olson, & Tiffin, 2012;Lowry & Willis, 2010), vertebrates (Johnsen et al, 2007;O'Malley, Ford, & Hard, 2010), and insects (Adrion, Hahn, & Cooper, 2015;Bradford & Roff, 1995;Bradshaw, Quebodeaux, & Holzapfel, 2003;Kyriacou, Peixoto, Sandrelli, Costa, & Tauber, 2008;Lankinen, Tyukmaeva, & Hoikkala, 2013;Lehmann, Lyytinen, Piiroinen, & Lindström, 2015;Levy et al, 2015;Masaki, 1978;Paolucci, Zande, & Beukeboom, 2013;Roff, 1980;Wang et al, 2012) PL was funded by National Science Foundation Research Experience for Undergraduates (IIS-1560363).…”