Effects of rearing conditions, geographical origin, and selection on larval diapause in the Indianmeal moth, Plodia interpunctella

The Indianmeal moth, Plodia interpunctella (Hübner) (Lepidoptera: Pyralidae), is a serious insect pest of stored products, and its late-instar larvae diapause as pre-pupae. Diapause induction in P. interpunctella was investigated for four populations obtained from Modesto, California, U.S.A.; Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada; and two locations from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada. Insects were reared at 25°C and 16:8 L:D for 9 days. The larvae were then either continuously maintained under those conditions or transferred to 25°C 8:16 L:D, 20°C 16:8 L:D, or 20°C 8:16 L:D, and the percent diapause was recorded. In the experiment with four populations, the highest diapause frequency was observed at 20°C 8:16 L:D. The two Winnipeg populations had significantly higher frequency of diapause than the California populations, indicating the increased frequency of diapause in populations from higher latitudes. In a second experiment, the Vancouver population was selected for diapause. Larvae were reared at 25°C 16:8 L:D for 9 days, then placed at 20°C 8:16 L:D for the rest of their development, and percent diapause was determined. Eggs laid by moths that completed diapause in this first (parental) generation were used to obtain a second generation (F1), and the experiment was repeated as in the first generation. Selection increased the frequency of diapause to 91%, compared to 26% in the unselected population, after selecting over two generations. The narrow sense heritability of selection in P. interpunctella was 0.39 in the first selection, and 0.82 in the second. This study has shown that both low temperature and short photoperiod are required to induce diapause in North American populations of P. interpunctella, and that selection can increase diapause in a few generations.