Cytoplasmic incompatibility: Its role in controlling Ephestia cautella (Walker)

Cytoplasmic incompatibility between allopatric strains of Ephestia cautelle (Walker) from Iraq and the U.S.A. was already confirmed. This incompatibility was unidirectional where Iraqi females were incompatible wth males from U.S.A. As a result, mating was normal, sperm was transferred and oviposition was normal, but the eggs were almsot completely Infertile. A single release of incompatible males in a lantern globe of 800 cc at a ratio of 8:1 or greater resulted in reduced egg hatch percentage to about 96.77%. Therefore, cytoplasmic Incompatibility could be utilized as a technique for genetic control of the laboratory populations of Ephestia cautella.