Understanding diapause is vital for the development of sound insect pest management practices, including population modeling as well as the implementation of effective cultural measures. Tools for breaking or promoting diapause on demand have utility for managing domesticated species, for mass rearing of insects for sterile insect release, and for stockpiling valuable genetic lines or parasitoids used in the biological control industry. A wide range of chemical and physical manipulators of diapause are known, many of which are species-specific. Insect conservation can be promoted by first knowing where insects overwinter and then protecting such sites. Diapause has implications for transmission of human disease, as noted in mosquitoes that harbor viruses while in diapause, thus enabling the disease to become re-established the following summer. Diapause also offers rich potential as a model for exploring issues of human health, such as aging, obesity, and ischemia, as well as providing a rich resource for pharmacological prospecting.