Trade-off between diapause and other life-history traits in the spider mite Tetranychus urticae

1. Diapause is generally believed to entail costs that manifest themselves as decreased survival, rate of development, and/or reproduction after diapause completion. The present study is a first step in investigating such diapause costs in the spider mite Tetranychus urticae. 2. The relationship was assessed between diapause duration and the post-diapause life-history traits of longevity and egg production, under six photoperiods at 19 degrees C. 3. The relationship between diapause duration and longevity was negative under five out of six treatments; in three cases this negative relationship was significant. 4. Most evident were the negative correlations between diapause duration and rate of oviposition, peak rate of oviposition, and total egg production. These phenotypic correlations suggest that there may be a trade-off between diapause duration and postdiapause reproduction.