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Effect of the life‐span of female Glossina palpalis gambiensis on the weight and size of its progeny
Author(s) -
DEKEN R. DE,
BOSSCHE P. VAN DEN,
SANGARE M.,
GNANVI C.,
MISSANDA J. H.,
HEES J. VAN
Publication year - 1997
Publication title -
medical and veterinary entomology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.028
H-Index - 82
eISSN - 1365-2915
pISSN - 0269-283X
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2915.1997.tb00295.x
Subject(s) - biology , pupa , wing , body weight , life span , zoology , longevity , toxicology , veterinary medicine , ecology , larva , genetics , evolutionary biology , endocrinology , medicine , engineering , aerospace engineering
Abstract. Pupae and teneral flies of Glossina palpalis gambiensis originating from three successive reproductive cycles were compared for their size and weight. In general, pupal weight and fly weight increased, whereas fly size, measured as wing vein length, decreased with the number of reproductive cycles. The linear regression observed between weight and wing vein length of the fly demonstrated that, particularly for flies originating from the first and second larvipositions, small changes in wing vein length reflected substantial differences in weight. The results of these laboratory experiments were compared with some field data on Glossina morsitans from Zambia and related literature. The life span of the female tsetse, affecting the size of her progeny, could clarify partially some of the field observed seasonal changes in size, whereas the correlation between fly size and weight could eventually explain the differential mortality of some size classes of tsetse flies. However, whether these laboratory observations can be extrapolated to the field has still to be confirmed.