Age- and sex-related effects in German cockroaches fed an allopurinol diet (Dictyoptera: Blattellidae).
The effects of feeding several ages of adult and nymphal German cockroaches a laboratory rat chow diet containing 0.10% allopurinol were investigated. All cockroaches fed the allopurinol diet suffered increased mortality. The range of LT50 values (the time required to kill 50% of an experimental cohort) for four ages of nymphs (1-8, 16-23, 21-28, and 28-35 d old following hatch) continuously fed the allopurinol diet was 1.36 wk (4.72-6.08 wk). Regardless of sex, young adult (1-7 d old following eclosion) cockroaches fed the allopurinol diet died significantly sooner than older adults (28-35 d old following eclosion); males died significantly sooner than females. All females fed the allopurinol diet as nymphs aborted their oothecae. Although an initial ootheca were hatched from cockroaches fed the allopurinol diet as adults, all subsequent oothecae were aborted. Untreated females mated with allopurinol-fed males experienced successful reproduction, but allopurinol-fed females mated with either allopurinol- or control diet-fed males failed to reproduce. Evidence suggests that cockroaches suffer increased mortality and reproductive failure from increased levels of hypoxanthine and xanthine.
Suiter
D R
DR
Department of Entomology and Nematology, University of Florida, Gainesville 32611-0740.
Koehler
P G
PG
Patterson
R S
RS
D000493:Allopurinol; D000818:Animals; D003058:Cockroaches; D005260:Female; D007300:Insect Control / Q000379:methods*; D008297:Male; D009758:Nymph; D012737:Sex Factors; D013997:Time Factors
D000493:Allopurinol