Hostname: page-component-77c89778f8-m42fx Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-07-23T04:27:56.688Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

A POSSIBLE MECHANISM FOR THE REGULATION OF THE FEMALE REPRODUCTIVE CYCLE IN TENEBRIO MOLITOR (COLEOPTERA: TENEBRIONIDAE)1

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  31 May 2012

G. H. Gerber
Affiliation:
Department of Biology, University of Saskatchewan, Saskatoon, Saskatchewan

Abstract

Ventral nerve cord severence in newly emerged females of Tenebrio molitor L. resulted in a rate of oocyte production significantly higher than in normal, mated females and much higher than in intact virgins. This suggests that some nervous, inhibitory factor normally controls oocyte production. Mating partially suppresses this inhibitory mechanism, but the higher rate of oocyte production in females with severed nerve cords indicates that the inhibitory mechanism is exercising some control over oocyte production at all times. A sequence of events in the control of oocyte production in Tenebrio is proposed.

Type
Articles
Copyright
Copyright © Entomological Society of Canada 1967

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Brandt, H. von. 1947. Über den Einfluss der Kopulation auf die Eiproduktion und Eiablage von Schmetterlingsweibchen. Z. Naturf. 2: 301308.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Bushnell, R. J., and Boughton, D. C.. 1940. Longevity and egg production in the common bean weevil, Acanthoscelides obtectus (Say). Ann. ent. Soc. Am. 33: 361370.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cotton, R. T., and St. George, R. A.. 1929. The mealworms. Tech. Bull. U.S. Dep. Agric., No. 95.Google Scholar
Eidmann, H. 1931. Morphologische und physiologische Untersuchungen am weiblichen Genitalapparat der Lepidopteren. Z. angew. Ent. 18: 57112.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Engelmann, F. 1959. The control of reproduction in Diploptera punctata (Blattaria). Biol. Bull. mar. biol. Lab., Woods Hole 116: 406419.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Engelmann, F. 1960. Mechanisms controlling reproduction in two viviparous cockroaches (Blattaria). Ann. N.Y. Acad. Sci. 89: 516536.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Engelmann, F. 1962. Further experiments on the regulation of the sexual cycle in females of Leucophaea maderae (Blattaria). Gen. comp. Endocrin. 2: 183192.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Engelmann, F. 1964. Inhibition of egg maturation in a pregnant viviparous cockroach. Nature, Lond. 202: 724725.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gillett, J. D. 1955. Behavior differences in two strains of Aedes aegypti. Nature, Lond. 176: 124.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Gillett, J. D. 1956. Initiation and promotion of ovarian development in the mosquito Aedes (Stegomyia) aegypti (Linnaeus). Ann. trop. Med. Parasit. 50: 375380.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Griffiths, J. T., and Tauber, O. E.. 1942. Fecundity, longevity and parthenogenesis of the American roach, Periplaneta americana L. Physiol. Zoöl. 15: 196209.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Highnam, K. C. 1961. Induced changes in the amounts of material in the neurosecretory system of the desert locust. Nature, Lond. 191: 199200.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Highnam, K. C. 1962 a. Neurosecretory control of ovarian development in Schistocerca gregaria. Q. Jl microsc. Sci. 103: 5772.Google Scholar
Highnam, K. C. 1962 b. Neurosecretory control of ovarian development in the desert locust. Mem. Soc. Endocr. 12: 379390.Google Scholar
Highnam, K. C. 1964. Endocrine relationships in insect reproduction. Symp. R. ent. Soc. Lond., No. 2. pp. 2642.Google Scholar
Lender, T., and Laverdure, A. M. 1964. La vitellogenèse et la sécrétion des corpora allata de Tenebrio molitor (Coléoptère). C.r. hebd. Séanc. Acad. Sci., Paris 258: 10861088.Google Scholar
Mellanby, H. 1937. Experimental work on reproduction in the tsetse fly, Glossina palpalis. Parasitology 29: 131141.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mellanby, K. 1939. Fertilization and egg production in the bed-bug, Cimex lectularius L. Parasitology 31: 193199.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mokia, G. G. 1941. Contribution to the study of hormones in insects. Dokl. Akad. Nauk SSSR 30: 371373.Google Scholar
Mordue, W. 1965 a. Studies on oocyte production and associated histological changes in the neuro-endocrine system in Tenebrio molitor L. J. Insect Physiol. 11: 493503.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mordue, W. 1965 b. The neuro-endocrine control of oocyte development in Tenebrio molitor L. J. Insect Physiol. 11: 505511.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mordue, W. 1965 c. Neuro-endocrine factors in the control of oocyte production in Tenebrio molitor L. J. Insect Physiol. 11: 617629.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Norris, M. J. 1954. Sexual maturation in the desert locust with special reference to the effects of grouping. Anti-Locust Bull. 18.Google Scholar
Roth, L. M., and Stay, B.. 1959. Control of oöcyte development in cockroaches. Science 130: 271272.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Roth, L. M., and Stay, B.. 1961. Oocyte development in Diploptera punctata (Eschscholtz) (Blattaria). J. Insect Physiol. 7: 186202.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roth, L. M., and Stay, B.. 1962 a. A comparative study of oocyte development in false ovoviviparous cockroaches. Psyche, Camb. 69: 165208.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roth, L. M., and Stay, B.. 1962 b. Oocyte development in Blattella germanica and Blattella vaga (Blattaria). Ann. ent. Soc. Am. 55: 633642.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roth, L. M., and Willis, E. R.. 1956. Parthenogenesis in cockroaches. Ann. ent. Soc. Am. 49: 195204.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Roy, D. N. 1940. Influence of spermathecal stimulation on the physiological activities of Anopheles subpictus. Nature, Lond. 145: 747748.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Weaver, N., and Thomas, R. C. Jr., 1956. A fixative for use in dissecting insects. Stain Technol. 31: 2526.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed