Mating Studies of the Pink Bollworm1

Mating studies of pink bollworm Pectinophora gossypiella (Saunders), were conducted in the laboratory under continuous light. Of 94, pairs caged individually, 74.5% mated. Observations showed that 71.0, 20.0, 7.1, and 1.4% mated 1,2,3, and 7 times, respectively. The mean duration of copulation was 2 hours 54 min with a range from 3 min to 26 hours 50 min. Of the total matings, 41% had occurred by the time moths were 6 days old, and the last mating occurred when moths were 16 days old. The aggregate mating that occurred at 6-hour intervals during a given day, under conditions of continuous light, was as follows: From midnight to 6 AM, 60%; 6 AM to noon, 26%; noon to 6 PM, 3%; and 6 PM to midnight. 11%. Frequency of mating of field-collected females was similar to that observed in the laboratory.