Reproductive boll weevil populations are typically identified by the presence of a frass seal and protuberance at the oviposition site in cotton squares. However, despite the occurrence of other oviposition puncture seal types and their use in previous fecundity studies, the relationship of these respective puncture seal types and oviposition has not been clearly examined. In this study, newly ...

The viability of eggs laid by individual functional queens from polygyne colonies of the fire ant, Solenopsi:; intricra Buren, was examined by staining for chromatin. In isolation units held in the laboratory inseminated queens laid nearly 100% viable eggs, compared to < 10% for uninseminated queens, Experiments in which the quantity of brood was manipulated demonstrated that the number of broo...

BACKGROUND & OBJECTIVES The use of low concentrations of boric acid as a potential and effective control agent for the eggs and immature stages of Aedes aegypti L. and Aedes albopictus Skuse (Diptera: Culicidae) is found to be safe and effective as compared to synthetic chemical insecticides. The study aims to determine the ovicidal concentration of boric acid, its effective concentration for o...

1. The dynamics of parasitic organisms depend critically upon the frequency distribution of parasite individuals per host. However, the processes giving rise to this frequency distribution have rarely been modelled and tested for organisms with complex host selection behaviour. 2. In this study Microrhopala vittata, a chrysomelid beetle, was used to investigate how oviposition behaviour, moveme...

Several environmental parameters may influence biological processes of several aquatic invertebrates, such as the Monogenea. Current analysis investigates oviposition, hatching success and infestation of Aphanoblastella mastigatus, a parasite of the silver catfish Rhamdia quelen at different temperatures (~ 24 and 28 °C) and salinity (by adding sodium chloride to water, at concentrations 0, 5 a...

BACKGROUND: Anopheles gambiae Giles is the most important vector of human malaria in sub-Saharan Africa. Knowledge of the factors that influence its daily oviposition pattern is crucial if field interventions targeting gravid females are to be successful. This laboratory study investigated the effect of oviposition substrate and time of blood feeding on daily oviposition patterns of An. gambiae...

the relationship between female oviposition preference and offspring performance is a key area of study on the evolution of host specificity. this study investigates host prefer-ence of the polyphagous hover fly syrphus ribesii (diptera: syrphidae) and compares it with some components of its offspring`s performance. females and offspring were tested on six naturally used aphid hosts (blackberry...

Approximately 84% of the energy in chicken eggs resides in the yolk. A robust model of ovarian follicle development is therefore valuable for estimating energy requirements of laying hens. The current experiment was designed to model the growth of ovarian follicles in 32-wk-old modern commercial line (CL) and unselected heritage line (HL) Single Comb White Leghorn hens. The volume of yolk depos...

Small hive beetles (Aethina tumida Murray) can lay eggs cryptically through the cappings of sealed bee brood cells. However, honey bees (Apis mellifera L.) can detect this activity and respond by removing cell cappings and contents (hygienic behaviour). We were interested in identifying conditions that regulate this syndrome of stimulus and response. Beetle oviposition rate (proportion of cells...

A comparative study of oviposition behavior of the dragonflies, Anax junius and Tramea onusta, was undertaken for two successive years in Tinley Park, Illinois. It was found that females of both species use tandem position and oviposit in close association with males. In A. junius, however, the male is physically attached to (tandem with) the ovipositing female during the actual act of oviposit...