EFFICACY OF GAMMA RADIATIONS AGAINST HOUSEFLY (MUSCA DOMESTICA L.) REPRODUCTION AND SURVIVAL I. PUPAL TREATMENT

Using gamma radiation doses of 0-10 Gy to pupal stadium, reproduction and survival parameters in the parents and subsequent progenies up to F3 generations of the common houseflies Musca domestica L. have been investigated. Compared to the untreated controls, irradiation significantly reduced egg laying, increased sterility and immature mortality, and diminished adult eclosion and female ratio in the treated lines. Sterility reached 100 % above 5 Gy levels except for the cross U?I, while complete infecundity in all flies was induced by 10 Gy. Males were readily radiosterilized than the females. Dose mortality (LD50) and sterility (SD50) responses of the test insects were determined 53.03 Gy and 4.34 Gy, respectively. Results are promising in connection with a sterile insect technique for this pest species