Fifth-instar brown marmorated stink bug (Halyomorpha halys Stål) nymphs were treated by gamma-radiation 60Co at different doses of 8–64 Gy to investigate their irradiation biology and potential for the sterile insect technique (SIT). At adult emergence, males were mated with non-irradiated virgin females to assess the longevity of both sexes, female fecundity, and egg sterility. Biological parameters of their F1 progeny were investigated to determine whether negative effects from parental exposure to radiation were inherited. Results showed that irradiation significantly reduced the lifespan of male insects at doses above 20 Gy. Irradiated males did not affect the longevity and fecundity of their female partners, nor of their resulting adult progenies, but it did reduce the developmental duration of nymphs as well as weight gain of male F1 offspring. Egg hatch was significantly reduced at all tested doses and reached complete sterility at 64 Gy. Low hatch of eggs produced by F1 or F1 crossed adults indicated that negative effects from radiation were inherited by the subsequent generation. But F1 male offspring were not less fertile than their irradiated male parent, unlike what was observed in Lepidoptera. The results support the potential for the use of SIT for H. halys management by irradiating the fifth-instar male nymphs at doses from 16 Gy to 64 Gy.
Graphical Abstract
