SOME FACTORS INFLUENCING INSEMINATION IN LABORATORY SWARMS OF CHIRONOMUS RIP ARIUS (DIPTERA: CHIRONOMIDAE)

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Abstract
The frequency of insemination of females in laboratory swarms of Chironomus riparius Meigen was investigated using autoradiographic techniques. In swarms in which the sexes were nearly equally represented the majority of females were invariably inseminated. The frequency of inseminations for a given population of males declined with aging. There was variation among individual males in the numbers of females inseminated and the timing of inseminations in a succession of eocrepuscular swarms. Unmated females appeared to be receptive to insemination throughout most of their adult life. Insemination or injection of extracts of males rendered the females unreceptive to subsequent inseminations. Unmated females held in cages for longer than 48 hr were found to resorb the eggs in one of their ovaries.