Oxygen consumption of individual pupae during metamorphosis

Abstract

The rates of oxygen consumption of single pupae of blowflies (Phormia terraenovae, Phormia regina, Lucilia sericata), of the flesh fly (Sarcophaga sarracenioides Aldrich), of the Mediterranean flour moth (Ephestia kuehniella), and of the bee moth (Galleria mellonella) during metamorphosis, until emergence, have been determined. The record for each pupa, with the exception of those of blowflies, is practically continuous day and night during the period of pupal development which lasted from 140 to 300 hours, according to the species, at the temperatures used. During pupal development there is first a period of decrease in rate, which is later followed by a steady increase until a short time before emergence, when a sudden decrease occurs.The ‘oxygen curves’ of the blowfly pupae (Diptera) are quite different from those of the flour‐moth and bee‐moth pupae (Lepidoptera), although all are of the same general U‐shaped type. There are strong indications of a specific difference in the curves of the blow‐fly pupae. The flour‐moth pupae curves differ slightly from those of the bee‐moth pupae. During the major part of development the rates of O₂ consumption of pupae of both sexes of bee moth and flour moth are about the same, but near the end of metamorphosis the females have higher rates than the males. No such sex difference appears among the dipterous pupae used.