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Timing of adult mortality, oviposition, and hatching during the underground phase of Forficula auricularia (Dermaptera: Forficulidae)

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2012

Jean Gingras  and
Jean-Claude Tourneur
Jean Gingras
Affiliation:
Département des sciences biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, CP 8888, Succursale Centre-ville, Montréal, Quebéc, Canada H3C 3P8
Jean-Claude Tourneur*
Affiliation:
Département des sciences biologiques, Université du Québec à Montréal, CP 8888, Succursale Centre-ville, Montréal, Quebéc, Canada H3C 3P8
*
1 Author to whom all correspondence should be addressed (E-mail: jc.tourneur@sympatico.ca).
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Abstract

We studied the effects of frost on the survival rate of European earwigs, Forficula auricularia L., during the underground phase of their cycle and determined the timing of oviposition, hatching, and death of the adults; we selected couples and inserted them into the ground to a depth of 150 cm in an open area and along the foundations of a heated suburban house in the Montréal area. Oviposition occurred in November and December, and eggs hatched between January and early June, after an average incubation period of 79–189 d depending on experimental conditions. In the open area all adults and eggs at ground surface died, killed by frost, whereas those in the soil along the house foundation did not die. Males died during the fall and early winter; their longevity was shorter than that of females, which survived until shortly after egg hatch. Females and eggs survived temperatures as low as − 3 and − 2 °C, respectively. For successful reproduction, females must keep their developing eggs at a temperature low enough to delay hatching until mid-April.

Résumé

Nous avons étudié l’effet du gel sur le taux de survie du Forficule commun, Forficula auricularia L., dans le sol au cours de la phase hypogée et déterminé les périodes de ponte, d’éclosion et de mortalité imaginale; des couples furent descendus dans le sol, de la surface à une profondeur de 150 cm en terrain ouvert et le long des fondations chauffées d’une maison de banlieue de la région de Montréal. La ponte a eu lieu en novembre et décembre et l’éclosion entre janvier et le début de juin, après un temps d’incubation moyen de 79 à 189 j, selon les conditions expérimentales. Le gel en surface a tué les adultes et les œufs en terrain ouvert mais pas le long de la fondation. Les mâles sont morts à l’automne et au début de l’hiver et leur temps de survie a été plus court que celui des femelles qui, elles, ont survécu généralement peu de temps après l’éclosion. Les femelles ont survécu à des températures de − 3 °C et les œufs à − 2 °C. Pour assurer leur succès reproducteur les femelles doivent maintenir leurs oeufs en développement à une température suffisamment basse pour que l’éclosion ne se produise pas avant la mi-avril.

Type
Articles
Information
The Canadian Entomologist , Volume 133 , Issue 2 , April 2001 , pp. 269 - 278
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 2001

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