The Use of Double Translocation to Control Populations of the German Cockroach.
Abstract
A unique type of sterility, embryonic trapping, is an ancillary effect of high lethality in the German cockroach. Lethal effects, such as those characteristics of double translocation carrying males, may reduce the proportion of living embryos in an egg case to a point at which their combined strength is insufficient to force it open at the time of hatch. The overall goal was to test the effectiveness of this sterility mechanism in the control of shipboard and other German cockroach infestations. The first research objective involved procedures for sexing and identifying double males. Two hundred individuals were selected/hr. The size of the crossing systems needed to produce specific numbers of double males was also estimated. Objective 2 dealt with competitiveness studies. Unmated males remained competitive during the first month of adulthood, reaching a slight peak at ca 2 wks. Another series of experiments showed laboratory translocation strain males tended to out-compete males collected from the USS J F Kennedy. Objective 3 involved the choice of the particular double translocation stock for field tests. A new double, showing complete male sterility and high competitiveness, was chosen in preference to an older stock, T(3;7;12), which has lower sterility. Under Objective 4, a population experiment using releases of T(3;7;12) males into the Kennedy strain was initiated. Data, though incomplete, leave little doubt that releases into one generation of cockroaches will result in population suppression in the next.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- May 01, 1978
- Accession Number
- ADA053575
Entities
People
- Donald G. Cochran
- Mary H. Ross
Organizations
- Virginia Tech