Published online by Cambridge University Press: 10 July 2009
Exposure of pregnant females of Glossina morsitans morsitans Westw. to a standard dose of 14·8 ng/fly of endosulfan confirmed that they acquire a higher level of tolerance of this insecticide than young unmated females. The development of tolerance was rapid, from threefold 48 h after larviposition, to eightfold midway through the pregnancy cycle at 4–5 days, and reaching 10- to 14-fold 24–28 h before the next larviposition. The acquisition of substantial tolerance preceded the periods of major growth of the larva in utero and of the developing oocyte, and it is suggested that the development of tolerance is associated with the diversion of insecticide by partitioning into lipid components of the milk as they are synthesised. The level of tolerance attained at equivalent stages of the pregnancy cycle appeared to be largely independent of the age of the fly between the second and fifth cycles, but that reached in the first cycle was lower. Some females survived repeated exposure to endosulfan in successive cycles. The offspring of treated females showed no apparent effects until shortly after adult eclosion, when substantial but variable delayed mortality occurred. However, surviving females and their offspring continued to reproduce normally. It is concluded that tolerance of the insecticide in pregnant flies accounts adequately for the observed survival following non-residual applications of endosulfan, and strategies for preventing this survival, and achieving eradication, are discussed.