Mediterranean Flour Moth:1 Effects of Continuous Light on the Reproductive Capacity 3

Abstract

Male Mediterranean flour moths, Anagasta kuehniella (Zeller), maintained under continuous illumination (130-140 lux) from the pupal stage onward had a much lower reproductive capacity than males maintained under 12 hours of light alternated with 12 hours of darkness. Factors that could be identified as contributing to reproductive failure included decreased mating, decreased release of sperm from the testes, and failure of much or all the sperm to move from the spermatophore to the female spermathecae.