Effect of gamma radiation on Eggs of callosobruchus maculatus (fabricius), (Coleoptera: bruchidae)

This experiment was carried out to study the effect of increasing gamma radiation doses (up to 14 GY) on the eggs of Callosobruchus maculatus, at different ages, to determine their effect on egg hatching rate, and other biological traits of the emerging adults from eggs treated with sub - lethal doses. It has been noticed that the low gamma radiation doses killed most of the one - day old eggs before hatching, and no adult insect could emerge from hatching those eggs, and the dose of 12 GY caused the same effect, but on two day-old eggs. When eggs were at the age of 3, 4, and 5 days, gamma radiation didn't have influenced on the embryo development, but demise percentage, increased after hatching. The percentage of emerged adults was only 1.8% for the eggs treated with 16 GY gamma radiation. The treatment of eggs with a sub - lethal dose of gamma radiation affected the fecundity of emerged female adults, where there was a remarkable decline in the number of eggs - laid, and the number of female adults that could not lay any eggs increased proportionally with increasing gamma radiation dose. Also, it has been noticed a malformation of the insect antenna, which emerged from eggs treated with 8 GY of gamma radiation. (author)