A Measure of the Influence of Natural Mortality Factors on Insect Survival

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Abstract
In the study of the natural control of insect pests entomologists are confronted with the difficult problem of appraising and comparing various mortality factors as control agencies. There are probably few economic entomologists or ecologists who will deny that the percentages of mortality produced by different mortality factors do not clearly indicate the relative importance of those factors in the determination of resultant population densities. Thompson (1928) discussed the evaluation of control agents and suggested that it would be necessary to procure an estimate of the mortality for which the factors were indispensable, to determine their values. He presented methods for calculating theoretically the “indispensable mortality” attributable to a factor, assuming that all mortality from all factors could be measured in all the different developmental stages. It would seem impractical, even if possible, actually to measure all the mortality that occurs in the different developmental stages or the population in each stage, but the basic idea of the “indispensable mortality” attributable to a factor may have considerable value.

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