Seasonal wing length dimorphism in a tropical seed bug: ecological significance of the short-winged form

Short-winged forms of the bug, Jadera aeola, were discovered during the late dry season at a study site on Barro Colorado Island, Panama. They were smaller than long-winged adults not only in elytron and hindwing sizes but also in head, thorax, rostrum and hind femur dimentions. When newly emerged adults were kept under natural photothermal conditions, short-winged females started ovipositing earlier, produced more eggs, and died earlier than did long-winged females. This was partly due to the fact that long-winged adults usually enter diapause after adult energence (Tanaka et al. 1987b). Egg size was another factor contributing to the high egg production in the short-winged form; it was significantly smaller in the short-winged form than that in the long-winged form. Wing form was apparently environmentally induced because all off-spring of short-winged adults became long-winged. No short-winged form was obtained in the laboratory when nymphs were reared on different species of seeds at different photoperiods. Although the factor(s) responsible for determination of the wing form remains unknown, the ecological significance of this short-winged form seems clear, i.e. exploitation of the food resource left in the late dry season. Wing length dimorphism in J. aeola could be a response to unpredictable availability of the food resource determined by seed production of the host plants (Sapindaceae) and by the timing of the onset of a wet season.