Vilena Ye. Zakharchenko

The ability to rapidly adapt to new environmental conditions is a crucial prerequisite for the wide-scale invasion of pests or intentional introduction of beneficial insects. A photoperiodically induced facultative winter diapause is an important adaptation ensuring synchronization of insect development and reproduction with the local seasonal dynamics of environmental factors. We conducted a laboratory study aimed to compare photoperiodic responses of two invasive Caucasian populations of the brown marmorated stink bug Halyomorpha halys (Hemiptera: Heteroptera: Pentatomidae), which recently invaded neighboring regions with subtropical (Sukhum, Abkhazia) and temperate (Abinsk, Russia) climates. Under the temperature of 25 °C and the near-critical photoperiods of L:D = 15:9 h and 15.5:8.5 h, the population from Abinsk showed a slower pre-adult development and a stronger tendency to enter winter adult (reproductive) diapause compared to the population from Sukhum. This finding agreed with the difference between the local dynamics of the autumnal temperature decrease. Similar adaptive interpopulation differences in the patterns of diapause-inducing responses are known in other insect species but our finding is distinguished by a very short adaptation time: H. halys was first recorded in Sukhum in 2015 and in Abinsk in 2018. Thus, the differences between the compared populations might have evolved over a relatively short span of several years.

Studies on the phenology of local populations of invasive insects are necessary for monitoring and predicting their dispersion. We investigated the phenology of the brown marmorated stink bug, Halyomorpha halys, in the Sochi region (Krasnodar Territory, Russia) from 2018 to 2021 by regular field sampling and dissecting. The results of the sampling suggest that H. halys is at least partially bivoltine in the studied region: the main period of mass oviposition (by the overwintered females) occurs from June to July; the second, much shorter period of egg-laying (by females of the new, i.e., the first generation) occurs in August. Reproductively active individuals (i.e., females with developed ovaries and filled spermatheca and males with filled ectodermal sac) were recorded from the end of May to the beginning of September. Such a seasonal pattern correlated with day length: when the natural photoperiod decreased below the experimentally determined critical day length (15.0–15.5 h), the proportions of females with fully developed ovaries sharply dropped to zero. Both the rate of H. halys pre-adult development and the timing of the induction of winter adult diapause observed under natural conditions fully agreed with the earlier predictions that had been based on the results of laboratory experiments.

Facultative winter adult diapause in Halyomorpha halys is regulated by a long-day photoperiodic response. Day length also influences nymphal development, which slows down at the critical (near-threshold) day lengths. We compared the photoperiodic responses of one native (Andong, South Korea) and three invasive (Torino, Italy; Basel, Switzerland; and Sochi, Russia) populations in a laboratory common-garden experiment. Nymphs developed and emerging adults were reared at 24 °C in a range of photoperiods with day lengths of 14.0, 14.5, 15.0, 15.5, and 16.0 h. The critical day lengths of the photoperiodic responses of both sexes fell between 14.5 and 15.0 h in the native Korean population and between 15.0 and 15.5 h in three invasive European populations. The differences between the three invasive populations were not significant, despite their distant origins. Moreover, the difference between the Korean and European populations was much smaller than was expected. The microevolution was possibly ‘too slow to keep up’ with the rapid spread of the invader across Eurasia. It is expected that soon the critical day length of the invasive H. halys populations will gradually change to adapt better to local conditions. At present, the critical day length for diapause induction of 15 h 15 min can be used to model the phenology, further spread, and response to climate change for all European populations of the pest.

A detailed description of the mature larva of the Cypress jewel beetle, Lamprodila (Palmar) festiva (L.), a dangerous pest of ornamental Cupressaceae in urban landscapes and nurseries in Europe, and its comparison with other known larvae of the subgenus Palmar, L. balcanica (Kirch.) and L. virgata (Motsch.) are presented. The larva is fully illustrated including details of the mouthparts, prothoracic plates, spiracles, and inner structures of the proventriculus. Larval characters of the genus Lamprodila and the tribe Poecilonotini as compared to the known larvae of Dicercini are discussed.