Fourth, the events in a dispause syndrome are not aimed directly at organismal survival during any particular set of environmental conditions. Diapause has more to do with synchronization of entire life cycles to seasonal changes in environments. It affects survival during unfavorable conditions, but it also bears a large weight upon other features of life history, including growth, development and reproduction. Hence, diapause is a unifying biological concept. Because it is under genetic control, it is an important substrate in evolution of life histories and in speciation.
Insects also cope with unpredictable environmental changes, such as droughts and overpopulation.
Short-term or localized changes might include sudden temperature changes or local food shortages. Insects can adjust to these sorts of changes with aseasonal quiescence or aseasonal migration. These adaptations differ from diapause in the manner of physiological control. Diapause is a genetical feature of insect life histories. All metamorphic stages in life cycles can be utilized as a diapause stage, but diapause usually occurs in a stage characteristic of a given species.