diapausen.
/ˈdʌɪəpɔːz/, U.S. /ˌdaɪəˈpɔz/, /ˌdaɪəˈpɑz/ Entomology.
A period of retardation or suspension of development in some insects. Also transferred.
ΚΠ
1893 W. M. Wheeler in Jrnl. Morphol. 8 68 I shall designate..the intervening resting stage as the diapause.
1934 Times 18 Sept. 17/2 The duration of the life-cycle depends on the absence or presence or a diapause in the adult stage.
1956 New Biol. 21 106 Many species [of Earthworms] survive unfavourable conditions by going into a state of diapause in which they roll themselves up into a tight ball in spherical earthen cells which are lined with mucus.
1969 R. F. Chapman Insects xxxv. 717 Diapause is a delay in development which, although its effect is usually to facilitate survival during unfavourable periods, is not immediately referable to the adverse environmental conditions.
This entry has not yet been fully updated (first published 1972; most recently modified version published online March 2022).
<
n.1893