Radiation Sensitivity of Successively Irradiated Generations of the Indian Meal Moth13

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Abstract
Five populations of Plodia interpunctella (Hübner) were treated, respectively, with 0 (control), 0.5, 1, 2, and 4 krad of gamma radiation in each generation. Groups of 7th-generation adults were then tested for resistance to acute irradiation by exposing them to total doses of 16 and 50 krad. Unirradiated 8th-generation adults from each population were checked for mating success and fecundity. No evidence of increased resistance to acute radiation exposures was found. Treated populations showed slight but not significant decreases in mean survival time. A general reduction in fecundity and in percentage of succesful matings in the treated populations with greater radiation pressures also indicated a decrease in population fitness. Therefore, the possibility of accidental exposure of some insects to substerilizing dosages during commercial radiation disinfestation does not appear to he a serious problem.

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