What condition may occur in arthropods as a survival strategy?

Diapause is a state of suspended development that some arthropods enter as a survival strategy during unfavorable environmental conditions. This phenomenon allows them to conserve energy and survive periods of extreme temperatures, drought, or lack of food. During diapause, metabolic processes slow down significantly, which helps the organism endure challenging conditions until circumstances become more favorable for growth, development, and reproduction.

The other options, while they relate to the biological processes of arthropods, do not serve as a survival strategy in the same context as diapause. Diarrhea is a symptom of ill health rather than a strategy, metamorphosis is a developmental change that species undergo and is not a direct survival mechanism, and reproduction, while essential for species continuation, does not help an individual survive adverse conditions but rather signifies a phase of life where energy is expended to ensure offspring viability.