Induced Sterilization and Control of Insects

A role for copula duration in fertility of Queensland fruit fly females mated by irradiated and unirradiated males

“…In SIT millions of males are mass reared, rendered reproductively sterile (usually using gamma radiation), and released. The sperm of irradiated (hereafter 'sterile') males carries chromosomal mutations that result in early embryonic death of fertilized eggs (Proverbs, 1969;Smith and von Borstel, 1972). Irradiated males mate with wild females, inducing reproductive failure that result in population control through reduced recruitment to subsequent generations (Knipling, 1955).…”

Gamma radiation tolerance of a tropical species of midge,Chironomus ramosusChaudhuri (Diptera: Chironomidae)

“…While the families, Acrididae (Orthoptera) and Blaberidae (Dictyoptera), are the most radiosensitive groups, Arctiidae and Pyralidae (Lepidoptera) have been reported as the most radioresistant groups (Bakri et al 2005). The high resistance to radiation of most adult insects has been attributed to the fact that they are composed of differentiated cells, which do not undergo replacement (Grosch 1962, Proverbs 1969. Willard and Cherry (1975) suggested that the large, long-lived adults are generally more radiosensitive than the small short-lived adults.…”

Managing of Procambarus clarkii by X-ray sterilisation of males: Cytological damage to gonads

“…Our data are in agreement with those present in literature for insects. In a review of the control of insects by induced sterilization Proverbs (1969) highlighted that "the various developmental stages of germ cells show differential susceptibility to killing and sterilization by radiation" and that "radiation is most injurious to the early stage of spermatogenesis". In the dipteran Cochliomya hominivorax, the testis of flies emerged from pupae irradiated with the dose of 6200 roentgen (equivalent approximately to 54 Gy) of gamma rays showed after 3 weeks that all spermatogonia and many primary spermatocytes were killed but no morphological alterations were recorded in spermatids and in immature sperms that developed into normal appearing mature sperm (Riemann, 1967).…”