Effect of high temperature and airtight environment on induction of non-pigmented dead eggs in female pupae of the silkworm, Bombyx mori

Abstract

When female pupae of the silkworm Bombyx mori at a late developmental stage were subjected to a combination of high temperature (35°C) and airtight environment and allowed to mate with normal males after emergence, almost all the eggs oviposited died without pigmentation, whereas no such phenomenon was observed when the pupae were exposed to a high temperature and adequate air supply. When the specimens were exposed to an environment of 9 ml or 20 ml air capacity per head for 12 hr, almost all the eggs oviposited became non-pigmented and died. When the air capacity was 58 ml/head, the occurrence of non-pigmented eggs was further delayed with an 18 hr treatment required to reach 100%. These non-pigmented eggs were fertilized by normal sperm but died at an early stage of cleavage and no egg reached the stage of blastoderm formation. On the other hand, most of the pigmented eggs that were mixed with non-pigmented dead eggs in the same batch retained their hatchability and no inherited effect was observed in their progeny. © 1990, The Japanese Society of Sericultural Science. All rights reserved.