On the inheritance of food effects in a flour beetle, Tribolium destructor

Abstract

This paper gives evidence that parental feeding affects the rate of development and mortality of offspring; and the relation of this to experiments on the inheritance of acquired food habits in insects is discussed. It is shown that no work on the rate of development of Tribolium is likely to be wholly satisfactory unless the parental food is known. It was found that under the most favourable conditions some larvae develop slowly, whilst other larvae develop at nearly maximum rates under the most unfavourable conditions. Handling lengthened the developmental period and tended to increase variability, whilst isolation increased the rate of development.