This is a form of delayed development that is categorized as lower metabolic activity in direct response to recurring times of drastic environmental conditions. It is predictive in nature and is determined by the animal’s specific genotype. Diapause can be found in all life stages of arthropods. However, it’s quite common during the invertebrate’s immobile stages (eggs and pupae). About 130 known species of oviparous fish and mammals go through embryonic diapause. Embryonic diapause is categorized as delayed attachment (delayed implantation) of embryos to the uterus lining resulting in spring births, when the weather conditions are optimal for birth.
