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How long do diapause pupae of Antheraea pernyi (Lepidoptera: Saturniidae) store photoperiodic information?

English (英語)

European Journal of Entomology

122(1)

137-140

Institute of Entomology, Biology Centre, Czech Academy of Sciences

2025-07-09

2025-08-07

Pupal diapause in the Chinese oak silkmoth (Antheraea pernyi) is maintained under short-day (SD) photoperiods but is terminated when pupae are exposed to long-day (LD) photoperiods for a specific number of days. This process suggests that pupae can count or retain memory of the number of LD days experienced. In this study, we investigated how long diapause pupae retain photoperiodic information acquired during LD exposure. Diapause pupae were first reared under SD conditions and then exposed to LD for 8 days - an insufficient duration to terminate diapause. Following this, the pupae were placed back under SD for 7, 14, or 21 days, and subsequently returned to LD to induce adult eclosion. Using the final transfer to LD as a reference point, we found that pupae exposed to SD for 7 or 14 days reached adulthood significantly earlier than control pupae that had not previously experienced LD. However, no significant difference in eclosion timing was observed between the 21-day SD group and the control group. These results suggest that photoperiodic information acquired during the 8-day LD exposure gradually decayed under SD conditions and was lost between 14 and 21 days after the transfer from LD to SD. Complete erasure of photoperiodic information under SD appeared to require approximately twice the duration of the initial LD exposure.

photoperiod

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