Photoperiodic Induction of Adult Diapause in North American Populations of the Convergent Lady Beetle (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae).

Characterization of intraspecific variation is required to assess the potential nontarget effects of augmentative releases of Hippodamia convergens (Guerin) (Coleoptera: Coccinellidae) from the Western United States on local populations of this species in the Eastern United States. Adults of this predatory lady beetle species overwinter in adult reproductive diapause, thus examining responses to photoperiods can characterize geographic variation influencing their seasonal biology. This laboratory study quantified the induction and duration of adult reproductive diapause in five North American populations of H. convergens in response to four constant photoperiods (16:8, 14:10, 12:12, and 10:14 [L:D] h) at 22°C. Three populations were collected over a range of latitudes (31° N to 42° N) in the central portion of the United States (Texas, Kansas, and Iowa); two populations were purchased from commercial sources in the Western United States. All populations exhibited a long-day response to photoperiods: ≤17% of females reared at 16:8 (L:D) h entered diapause, whereas shorter photoperiods (12:12 and 10:14 [L:D] h) induced diapause in 82 to 100% of females. The response to 14:10 (L:D) h showed significant variation among the populations, ranging from 0 to 89% of females in reproductive diapause. Both the phenotypic variation in response to diapause inducing photoperiods and the genetic variation in North American populations of H. convergens document the geographic variability in this widely distributed predatory species.