Effects of gamma irradiation on different phases of coffee borer Hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari, 1867)

Two experiments carried out in order to determine immediate lethal doses (LD sub(I)) for gamma irradiation of larvae, pupae and adults hypothenemus hampei (Ferrari, 1867) are presented. One experiment aimed only the determination of LD sub(I) for the adults of the coffee borer-outside the coffee-berries. The other to obtain the equivalent data for insects inside the coffee-berry, for all phases of the development cycle of the insect. It was found that LD sub(I) for larvae was around 350 Krad and for pupae around 400 Krad. For the adults, the LD sub(I) for insects outside the coffee-berry was 475 Krad and 525 for insects inside the coffee-berry. It was found that smaller doses caused a pronunced decrease in the insect lifetime, lifetime decrease proportionally as the irradiation dose increase. According to the results obtained, is postulated that this species of coffee-borer may be considered resistant to gamma radiation