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Abstract-The many components of seasonal adaptations in insects are reviewed, especially from the viewpoint of aspects that must be studied in order to understand the structure and purposes of the adaptations. Component responses include dispersal, habitat selection, habitat modification, resistance to cold, dryness, and food limitation, trade-offs, diapause, modifications of developmental rate, sensitivity to environmental signals, life-cycle patterns including multiple alternatives in one species, and types of variation in phenology and development. Spatial, temporal, and resource elements of the environment are also reviewed, as are environmental signals, supporting the conclusion that further understanding of all of these seasonal responses requires detailed simultaneous study of the natural environments that drive the patterns of response.
Résumé-On trouvera ici une revue des multiples composantes des adaptations saisonnières des insectes, particulièrement des aspects à examiner afin de comprendre la structure et les buts de ces adaptations. Ces composantes incluent la dispersion, la sélection d'habitat, la modification d'habitat, la résistance au froid, à la sécheresse et aux restrictions de nourriture, les compromis, la diapause, les modifications du taux de développement, la sensibilité aux signaux environnementaux, les patrons de cycles biologiques (y compris les patrons multiples possibles chez une même espèce), ainsi que les types de variation dans la phénologie et le développement. La revue considère aussi les conditions d'espace, de temps et de ressources dans le milieu de même que les signaux environnementaux. En conclusion, la compréhension accrue de ces réponses saisonnières requiert une étude détaillée et simultanée des environnements naturels qui régissent les patrons de réponses.
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Introduction
The extensive literature about insect seasonality reveals great diversity and complexity in the adaptations that withstand seasonal adversity and synchronize development with the seasons. This paper reviews the basic structure of these adaptations, identifying the elements that are needed to characterize a given life cycle and hence serving too to identify the decisions needed in planning investigations. Treating this broad subject area in detail would require several books, but the aim here is to provide a shorter treatment that gives the necessary overview and essential details in one place, in the hope that such a treatment will be of value to a range of readers. The approach therefore is synoptic rather than comprehensive, but relevant literature, especially...