Eggs of Floodwater Mosquitoes (Diptera: Culicidae) V. Effect of Oxygen on Hatching of Intact Eggs1

Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Conditioned embryos of floodwater mosquitoes in intact eggs change from a latent to an active state and hatch when placed in a medium from which at least part of the dissolved oxygen has been removed. Replacement of oxygen by nitrogen in atmospheres of closed systems permitted a study of effects of differences in levels of oxygen. Species capable of completing several generations each year in nature will hatch immediately after completion of morphogenesis. When kept at room temperature eggs of Aedes trivittalus continued to hatch readily for some 80 days. Many of the embryos between the ages of 100 and 140 days of age could not be conditioned. Embryos from 100 to 300 days of age again hatched well even at fairly high percentages of oxygen. Embryos in eggs on dry surfaces could be stimulated to crack the shells of their eggs by lowering the oxygen in the atmosphere about them. Eggs within a closed system of small volume hatched without outside stimulation, presumably by reducing the oxygen tension by metabolism of enclosed embryos.

This publication has 0 references indexed in Scilit: