A Note on the Size and Composition of Old Tribolium confusum Populations

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Abstract
The composition of 200 cultures of T. confusum raised in 4 initially distinct types of flour and allowed to grow unmolested was analyzed. The total population size (i.e., after 1 yr.) was in inverse proportion to the initial conditioned flour content of the medium. This difference between the various exptl. series seemed due largely to the number of imago and larval beetles and not to the eggs and pupae. In all cultures the imagoes displayed less variability of numbers than the eggs and larvae. The pupae comprised less than 0.3% of the entire population. The total number of dead imagoes was quite similar for each flour series. These dead Tribolium, however, were relatively more abundant in the conditioned than in the fresh series. All the cultures lost weight during the year''s growth period. The loss is attributed to the escape of metabolic waste products into the atmosphere. It varied directly with the total size of the population.