Suspending Reproduction Conserves Energy

dozens of lady bugs crowd on a tree branch together to prepare for wintering

Biological Strategy

Insects

AskNature Team

Image: Elaine with the Grey Cats / Flickr / Some rights reserved

Regulate Reproduction or Growth

Reproduction and growth are two physiological processes that occur in all living systems. There are situations when conditions are right for both, and other situations when continuing either harms the living system because both have a very high energy cost. Reproduction and growth are unique in that both can stop until conditions improve, although stopping either for an extended time can cause problems. An example of regulating reproduction is a process called delayed implantation or embryonic diapause found in some mammals, such as otters. An otter’s embryos sometimes temporarily cease developing and won’t develop further until the female senses that conditions are suitable.

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Protect From Temperature

Many living systems function best within specific temperature ranges. Temperatures higher or lower than that range can negatively impact a living system’s physiological or chemical processes, and damage its exterior or interior. Living systems must manage high or low temperatures using minimal energy, which often requires controlling responses along incremental temperature changes. To do so, living systems use a variety of strategies, such as avoiding high or low temperatures, removing excess heat, and holding heat in. Insulation is a well-known example of managing low temperatures by retaining heat using thick layers of hair, fur, or feathers to hold warm air next to the skin.

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Insects

Class Insecta (“an insect”): Flies, ants, beetles, cockroaches, fleas, dragonflies

Insects are the most abundant arthropods—they make up 90% of the animals in the phylum. They’re found everywhere on earth except the deep ocean, and scientists estimate there are millions of insects not yet described. Most live on land, but many live in freshwater or saltwater marshes for part of their life cycles. Insects have three distinct body sections: a head, which has specialized mouthparts, a thorax, which has jointed legs, and an abdomen. They have well-developed nervous and sensory systems, and are the only invertebrate that can fly, thanks to their lightweight exoskeletons and small size.

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The reproductive or growth cycles of many insects are suspended until conditions are favorable via diapause, a hibernation-like mechanism.

“Juvenile insects often undergo a period of suspended development and growth which may be accompanied by a decrease in their metabolic rate. This is known as diapause. It also occurs in adult insects that survive the winter (often referred to as overwintering), such as various species of butterfly and beetle. In these cases the diapause can be thought of as a hibernation mechanism…During overwintering diapause, fertilized eggs that were produced during the fall by the females are retained internally, and their development is halted, while still at an early stage, until the spring. Then, once the adult insects have emerged from this torpid state, their eggs ripen and are laid.” (Shuker 2001:109)