REPRODUCTIVE CAPACITY OF LABORATORY-REARED GYPSY MOTHS (LEPIDOPTERA, LYMANTRIIDAE) - EFFECT OF AGE OF FEMALE AT TIME OF MATING

The reproductive potential of laboratory-reared gypsy moths, Lymantria dispar (L.), was studied as a function of female age at time of matin g. The parameters studied were number of eggs produced, number of eggs deposited, mating, sperm transfer egg viability, and female longevity . Delayed mating did not affect female longevity, but all other factor s decreased with increased age at time of mating. With increasing age, females were less likely to mate or receive a full complement of sper m than females exposed to males within the first few days after eclosi on. Females that oviposited before being placed with males were less l ikely to mate than those that had not. For females receiving a full co mplement of sperm, the number of eggs produced, tile number laid, and egg viability decreased with increasing age of the female at mating. O verall, a delay in mating of 3-5 d reduced the reproductive potential of females from 40 to 90% of that of females mated within the first 36 h.