Local adaptation, intrapopulation adult emergence patterns, sex and prolonged diapause regulate the rate of postwinter development in pupae of the European cherry fruit fly

Abstract

We used the European cherry fruit fly, Rhagoletis cerasi (Diptera: Tephritidae), an oligophagous, univoltine species that overwinters as pupae, to determine the geographical variation in postwinter development of pupae with annual and prolonged diapause in geographically isolated populations with various levels of gene flow rates. We tested the hypothesis that emergence patterns within a population (early- vs. late-emerged adults) and local adaptation of populations from different habitats would affect the rate of postwinter development of pupae that yield adults during the first year of diapause. We also hypothesized that postwinter development of pupae with prolonged dormancy would differ among geographical isolated populations with gene flow. Our results revealed that (a) postwinter developmental period of pupae differ among genetic distant populations in the absence of intrapopulation variability in emergence patterns, and (b) temperature exerts a differential effect on postwinter developmental time in populations from both different and similar habitats. Prolonged dormancy seems to minimize population effects on postwinter developmental time. Females finished their postwinter development earlier than males. Population is a significant predictor of postwinter development for R. cerasi pupae with annual diapause but not for those that with a prolonged dormancy schedule. © 2017 The Linnean Society of London.