Population structure is an important aspect of patchily distributed organisms. Small local populations, large temporal fluctuations, synchronized dynamics, and low migration rates should all lead to lowered rates of patch occupancy and increased extinction risks. These effects can, however, be counteracted if there is a pool of hidden, dormant individuals bridging unfavorable periods. Prolonged diapause—a dormancy that extends over two or more years—provides such a temporal bridge among insects, but its role in structuring patchy populations is poorly known. Based upon a long‐term study, we explore the landscape scale population structure of a galling insect, the larva of which has an unusually long diapause spent hidden in the soil. Gall populations in patches fluctuated synchronously in a long wave with a tenfold amplitude. Abundances were very low with a median of less than twenty galls per patch. Although only a third of the patches had galls in all years, local populations persisted thanks to the pool of diapausing larvae. Colonizations of two new plant patches were very slow. The combination of small, synchronously fluctuating gall populations and high occupancy rates can be maintained because of the very low extinction rates imposed by the time‐traveling diapausing larvae.

中文翻译：

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时间旅行的幼虫确保生存在同步波动的小型种群中

种群结构是分散分布的生物的重要方面。较小的本地人口，较大的时间波动，同步的动态变化和低迁移率都应导致斑块占用率降低和灭绝风险增加。但是，如果有一群潜伏的，潜伏的个体弥合不利时期，则可以抵消这些影响。长期滞育（一种长达两年或两年以上的休眠）在昆虫之间提供了这种暂时的桥梁，但其在构造斑驳种群中的作用鲜为人知。在长期研究的基础上，我们探索了一种gall虫的景观尺度种群结构，该虫的幼虫有非常长的滞育作用，隐藏在土壤中。斑块中的虫种群在长波中以十倍的幅度同步波动。丰度非常低，每个斑块的中位数少于二十加仑。尽管整年中只有三分之一的斑块患有胆汁，但由于滞育幼虫的聚集，当地居民仍然存在。两个新植物斑块的定殖非常缓慢。由于时差滞育幼虫的灭绝率非常低，因此可以保持较小的，同时波动的胆虫种群和较高的占用率。