[LEPS-L:7991] diapause in midea

[Ron Gatrelle]

The "trigger" for long pupal diapause in A. midea midea is lack of humidity.
Midea evolved from a Florida ancestor when Fl had a dry season. This
evolutionary trait is no longer "needed" however it is still in their genes.
I discovered this by accident when I reared the species and kept the pupae
inside. Several did not emerge the next year. They looked alive so I just
kept them. Heater in winter air-conditioning in summer. The third spring I
set them outside and they emerged!!!. (4 or 5 pupa). The orangetips in the
southwest US do the same thing. When a really wet spring occurs there is a
boom in orangetips.



 
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