Some Effects of Gamma Radiation on the Horn Fly

Abstract
Both sexes of the horn fly, Haematobia irritans (L.), were sterilized by irradiating pupae with a gamma ray dosage of 5000 r from a cobalt-60 source. In every test in which irradiated pupae mixed with normal pupae were allowed to emerge together in screened cages, the resulting eggs were less viable than control eggs, which indicated that treated males competed for mates with normal males with some success. Horn fly longevity in these tests was apparently unaffected by the sterilizing dosage. Methods are presented for obtaining horn fly eggs, for mass rearing these flies in the laboratory, and for sexing the newly emerged adults.

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