Stage-Specific and Seasonal Induction of the Overwintering Morph of Spotted Wing Drosophila (Diptera: Drosophilidae)

Drosophila suzukii Matsumura (Diptera: Drosophilidae) is currently a major pest management challenge in berry and cherry production. This species has a winter morph phenotype with longer wings and increased melanization associated with survival in colder conditions. Measurements of wing morphology in Michigan D. suzukii collected during 2016 and 2017 showed that induction of this morph began in September and increased into December, correlated with decreasing temperature and day length. Importantly, we found that wing length increases along a continuous scale and there is overlap between the two morph types. We tested whether temperature or photoperiod elicited this phenotypic change using a factorial design with each preadult lifestage held at 10 or 25°C and 16:8 or 8:16 L:D. Our results support temperature as the main driver of transition to the winter morph for all immature stages. Comparing the reproductive capacity of winter morph flies in cold conditions and when previously acclimated to warm conditions, flies with the acclimation experience laid comparable numbers of eggs as the summer morphs at 25°C, indicating that winter morphs can reproduce after surviving cold periods. These results highlight the ability of D. suzukii to adapt to changing temperature conditions, allowing it to survive cold and also exploit warmer periods to build populations when conditions allow.