A Comparative Study of the Weight, and Lipid and Water Content of the Pink Bollworm2

Abstract

Determinations were made of the weights, and lipid and water contents of nondiapause and diapause fourth-instar larvae, and pupae and adults of the pink bollworm, Pectinophora gassypiella (Saund.), from 1954 to 1959. Statistically, no differences in these measurements occurred between boll-reared nondiapause and diapause larvae, but differences between boll-reared and square- and bloom-reared larvae did occur. As diapause larvae aged, weight and lipid content decreased, but the percent of water remained almost constant. Larvae were stored for as long as 33 months at approximately 15° C, at which time they were either moribund or dead. The trend of larvae feeding on bolls of various ages was for the weight and lipid to increase and amount of water to decrease with concurrent changes in developing bolls.