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Abstract

Seed beetles (Callosobruchus maculatus) are a pest of stored leguminous grains that can dramatically decrease yields. Management strategies to control infestations of C. maculatus are important for economic and food security. Radiation exposure is one possible management strategy that has shown promise. In two separate course-based undergraduate research experiences (CUREs), we tested how exposure to UV-C light affects C. maculatus fecundity, survival, and performance. Callosobruchus maculatus individuals were exposed to UV-C at two different life-stages: parent and egg exposure during oviposition and larval exposure during development. Whereas UV exposed two-week old eggs experienced slightly increased mortality, no significant difference in mean eggs laid or survival was detected for parent and egg exposure during oviposition, and no significant difference in offspring adult mass or survival was found for developmental exposure at the larval stage. In contrast with our findings, similar studies have found that UV-C exposure dramatically decreases survival in C. maculatus. We implore future USU Biology 1625 students could learn from our findings and make adjustments to the experimental design to continue to test the hypothesis that UV light affects seed beetle survival and performance, such as avoiding the use of UV-blocking petri dishes and focusing on exposing the newly-laid clear eggs whose membrane may not block UV. Confirmation of our findings could suggest that C. maculatus from Asia are resilient to UV-C exposure.

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Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 License.

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