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8 October 2021 Conditions to Terminate Reproductive Diapause of a Univoltine Insect: Ceratapion basicorne (Coleoptera: Apionidae), a Biological Control Agent of Yellow Starthistle
Lincoln Smith, Ikju Park
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Abstract

Ceratapion basicorne (Illiger) is a recently approved univoltine biological control agent that develops inside the rosette of yellow starthistle (Centaurea solstitialis L.), an invasive annual plant. Adult weevils normally emerge in early summer, and females are thought to be in reproductive diapause until the following spring, when they oviposit in rosettes. The long period of reproductive diapause constrains mass-rearing this weevil because only one generation per year can be produced. Determining the environmental conditions that regulate diapause termination may enable shortening diapause under laboratory conditions to increase production of adults to release. We tested three hibernating conditions (greenhouse [ambient temperature and photoperiod], glass door refrigerator [5°C and ambient photoperiod], and growth chamber [5°C and 24 h dark]) for three durations (4, 8, 11 wk). The highest proportion of females laying eggs came from the growth chamber, with 40% terminating diapause after 4 wk, 80% after 8 wk, and 95% after 11 wk of exposure. Our study demonstrates that duration of cold temperature is an important stimulus to terminate reproductive diapause of C. basicorne, and that exposure to ambient light had no effect at 5°C. However, 47% of females held at ambient greenhouse conditions, without any chilling period, completed diapause within 11 wk. Thus, a cold period can accelerate diapause development, but it is not necessary for its completion. Reducing the winter diapause period from about 6 mo to 11 wk should enable the production of multiple generations per year to increase the number of insects available to release.

Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of Entomological Society of America 2021. This work is written by (a) US Government employee(s) and is in the public domain in the US.
Lincoln Smith and Ikju Park "Conditions to Terminate Reproductive Diapause of a Univoltine Insect: Ceratapion basicorne (Coleoptera: Apionidae), a Biological Control Agent of Yellow Starthistle," Environmental Entomology 51(1), 71-76, (8 October 2021). https://doi.org/10.1093/ee/nvab110
Received: 29 June 2021; Accepted: 10 September 2021; Published: 8 October 2021
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KEYWORDS
biocontrol
diapause development
herbivore
hibernation
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