Zoology Unit, Department of Biological Sciences, Usmanu Danfodiyo University, Sokoto, Nigeria.
Development and viability of eggs of Acrotylus humbertianus Sauss. were studied in the laboratory under fluctuating temperatures. The exposure of the eggs to low temperature (10°C) increased the incubation period and decreased the hatching percentage (viability). The extent of increase or decrease, however, depended on the duration of exposure to low temperature. But, the low temperature did not amect the development of eggs in the advanced stages of development as adversely as in the early stages. The rate of development increased while the viability decreased when the eggs in the advanced stages of development were exposed to higher temperature (50°C) for one day. Exposure to higher temperatures beyond one day resulted in total mortality.
