Mating Frequency of Normal vs. Sterile Male Boll Weevils in the Laboratory13

Abstract
Male Anthonomus grandis Boheman, treated with a combination of γ-irradiation and hempa in the diet mated ca. one-half as often as untreated males when paired individually with 4 virgin females/day. Examination of spermathecae showed that females mated to treated males contained an average of ca. ⅓ as much sperm as females mated to untreated males. Thus, considering spermathecal filling and mating frequency, treated males transferred only ca. ⅙ as much sperm as untreated males. When paired with females immediately after treatment, treated males inseminated an average of 18.3 ♀ before aspermia occurred; however, when treated males were first held without females for 10 days, they were capable of inseminating an average of only 4.1 ♀.

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