Abstract
An apparatus for direct measurement of the eggshell permeability to oxygen was devised to test the hypothesis that diapause initiation in the Bombyx mori egg is caused by the eggshell becoming insufficiently perrneable to air to allow further embryogenesis. Using this apparatus, it was found that permeability of the eggshell to oxygen decreased dramatically during the first 2 days of incubation in prospective diapause eggs, but no appreciable changes were found in nondiapause eggs for the first 6 days of incubation. The rates of oxygen uptake by diapause and nondiapause eggs increased in a similar pattern for 26 h after oviposition. Thereafter, the rate of oxygen uptake in the former decreased while that of latter continuously increased. The cause and physiological meaning of the rapid drop of eggshell permeability just before diapause initiation are obscure. It is suggested that the decrease in oxygen uptake may be due to decreased eggshell permeability to oxygen.
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