Hi everyone,=20 Silk moths are commonly used to demonstrate insect life history and a number of other fun traits from kindergarten classes on up. Last spring, I had a student with ten replicates of ten caterpillars mate and produce about 50 batches of eggs. In the past 48 hours, they all began hatching even though they were laid over the course of two weeks, the parents had been treated with low and high food availability, and the eggs had been stored for the past 10 months in the lab at room temp, standard humidity, and without any windows. Synchronous emergence is well documented in insects, but does it often carry over to the lab like this? Interestingly, the food source (mulberry trees) here have just broken buds in the last two days, so it just seems remarkable to me. Being a plant person with an interest in germination strategies, I expect there to be an environmental cue prior to the advent of any activity. Granted these are probably somewhat inbred lines, but in other organisms that show simultaneous behaviors, there is a consistent environmental stimulus. Because they all emerged simultaneously, I have to assume there was a cue even though they were maintained in an interior room in the building. Any suggestions? Have I ignored something obvious or is it just my entomological naivete?
Thanks, Andy =20 =20 Andrew R. Dyer Asst. Professor of Ecology Dept. of Biology & Geology University of South Carolina Aiken 471 University Parkway Aiken, SC 29801 Vox 803-641-3443 Fax 803-641-3251 [EMAIL PROTECTED] =20
