Diapause in Populations of Tetranychus urticae (Acari: Tetranychidae) from the Tropical Climate Zone: Morphological, Behavioral, and Metabolomic Characterization
TL;DR
These findings provide the first evidence that T. urticae can enter true diapause under tropical conditions and may improve the timing of pest monitoring and enhance the effectiveness of management strategies in tropical cropping systems.
Abstract
Simple Summary The two-spotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae, is a major agricultural pest that typically enters diapause, a state of arrested development that enables survival under harsh winter conditions in temperate climates. Surprisingly, T. urticae females exhibiting diapause-related traits have recently been found on crops in the tropics of Brazil, where the classical environmental cues that induce diapause in this species are absent. This study investigated whether these mites from tropical regions undergo true diapause and characterized their metabolic profiles to gain insight into the physiological mechanisms underlying this adaptation. By examining T. urticae populations from five Brazilian states, we confirmed that populations from four regions exhibited typical diapause characteristics, including reddish-orange body coloration, loss of the dorsal striae lobes, and cessation of oviposition. Metabolic profiling revealed clear differences between diapausing and non-diapausing mites, indicating metabolic adjustments associated with energy conservation and stress tolerance in diapausing females. These findings provide the first evidence that T. urticae can enter true diapause under tropical conditions. Understanding diapause in tropical regions may improve the timing of pest monitoring and enhance the effectiveness of management strategies in tropical cropping systems.