The effect of temperature on the oxygen consumption of tsetse pupae

Abstract

Measurements of oxygen consumption by a series of single pupae of Glossina morsitans orientalis Vanderplank maintained at 30°C. showed that the time course of respiration during this stage follows a U-shaped curve and thus resembles that of other holometabolous insects. The rate of pupal respiration was found to be directly proportional to wet weight at all temperatures investigated, and did not appear to be affected by the temperature to which females were subjected during pregnancy. The relation between temperature and the logarithm of metabolic rate was found to be curvilinear, tending to a relatively stable level between 35 and 40°C., the highest part of the range investigated.