Elimination Rate and Effect on Reproduction of Ingested Radiophosphorus in the Boll Weevil1

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Abstract
Tlic biological half-life of ingested P32 in the boll weevil, Anthonomus grandis Boheman, was 5.3 days in females and 7.3 days in males. Germ cells were relatively resistant to effects of the isotope. Ingested amounts up to 3.5 μc caused only a small decrease in fecundity, and when either the male or female was fed no effects on progeny or genetic changes could be detected. Sterile matings resulted only when both sexes were fed the isotope. There was no obvious chromosomal damage in the germ cells and no phenodeviants appeared in insects reared to the third filial generation. By feeding P32, sperm or seminal fluid or both could be labeled and traced to the spermatheca and ovaries of mated females. Larvae reared in a radioactive medium were inhibited in their development and only a small percentage developed to adulthood.