Different maternal effects on diapause induction of tetranychid mites, Tetranychus urticae and T. kanzawai (Acari: Tetranychidae)

Abstract

Prenatal maternal effects on diapause induction were examined in the tetranychid mites, Tetranychus urticae and T. kanzawai. In T. urticae, the incidence of diapause of offspring whose mothers had experienced short daylength (9L15D) was higher than that of the offspring whose mothers had experienced long daylength (16L8D) when the offspring developed under short daylength. However, this maternal effect was not conspicuous when the offspring developed under long daylength. The incidence of diapause in T. urticae offspring was higher when their mothers had experienced a high density during the juvenile period. By contrast, the photoperiod and density experienced by mothers did not affect the incidence of diapause in the offspring of T. kanzawai. However, the presence of senior female adults on the same leaf during the juvenile period enhanced the incidence of diapause in T. kanzawai. The difference in maternal effects observed between T. urticae and T. kanzawai is discussed with respect to their life-history characteristics.

Maternal photoperiod effect on and geographic variation of diapause incidence in Cotesia plutellae (Hymenoptera: Braconidae) from China

“…This phenomenon has been reported for many other insects and mites (Mousseau and Dingle, 1991;Rockey et al, 1991;Saunders, 1997, 1998;Webb and Denlinger, 1997;Milonas and Savopoulou-Soultani, 2000;Vinogradova and Reznik, 2002;Oku et al, 2003;Tachibana and Numata, 2004). Although the parental phenotypic plasticity adjusts offspring phenotypes in order to accommodate offspring to predictable future environments (Mousseau and Fox, 1998), the temperature and photoperiod experienced by the offspring were still two key factors determinating the incidence of diapause in C. plutellae.…”

Heritability and Artificial Selection on Ambulatory Dispersal Distance in Tetranychus urticae: Effects of Density and Maternal Effects

“…Maternal effects may be an adaptive mechanism of phenotypic plasticity in which the mother can influence the phenotype of her offspring based on cues from her environment [66]. Maternal effects have been shown to affect offspring performance [67], diapause induction [68], and aerial dispersal behavior in this species (D. Bonte, unpublished data). Our results indicate that the density experienced by the mother could have influenced the dispersal distances of her offspring (Fig.…”

Dispersal distance is influenced by parental and grand-parental density

“…Our experiment did not permit us to quantify the cost of information transmission from mother to offspring. However, because maternal effects are present in other life-history traits in this species, we can suppose that the cost is not prohibitive [34]. Lastly, and perhaps most relevant to our study, maternal environment or condition must be a good predictor of conditions that the offspring will experience.…”