230 
Psyche 
[December 
rition, in females fed during gestation, inhibits oocyte development; 
mating does not result in oocyte development in these starved L. 
jnaderae (table 9). 
Effect of nutrition and mating , following parturition, on oocyte 
development in females starved during gestation 
The effect of exposing females, which were starved during gesta- 
tion, to food for various periods of time following parturition is 
shown in table 10. If not mated, only 6 and 10% of the females 
oviposited when given food for o and 1 day. Mating similarly treated 
females did not increase the percentage ovipositing. When fed for 
2 and 3 days, the number ovipositing increased to 22 and 39%, 
respectively, and mating further increased the number ovipositing to 
53 and 69%. Mating had no effect on the percentage ovipositing 
after the females had access to food for 5 days; however, after this 
amount of feeding as high as 68% of the nonmated females ovi- 
posited. Seventy-one to 100% of the females oviposited if they were 
fed for 6-12+ days (table 10). The average time taken to oviposit 
was very similar in all the females that oviposited regardless of the 
length of time they had access to food. Also, the time taken to 
oviposit by the mated females was the same as the nonmated 
females only the percentage of females ovipositing differed in the 
groups fed for 2 and 3 days. 
The oocytes of the females that were starved after parturition 
and were not mated again averaged only 0.77 zb 0.02 mm. (13 of 
the 29 females were dissected). The oocytes of the remaining 6 
nonmated females, from all groups, which did not oviposit ranged 
from undeveloped to practically mature, the latter occurring in the 
small number of individuals that were fed for 8-10 days before 
being starved. Thirty-seven (41%) of the females had oocytes that 
were less than 1 mm. long and lacked yolk. Twenty-eight (31%) 
had oocytes in various stages of resorption. 
The oocytes of the 20 mated females that did not oviposit averaged 
0.98 zb 0.08 mm. after they were starved continuously after partu- 
rition ; all still retained their spermatophores when dissected. In the 
remaining groups, the 56 mated females that did not oviposit had 
oocytes that varied considerably in size 25 days after parturition. 
Thirty-one (55%') still retained their spermatophores and their 
oocytes averaged 1.19 zb 0.09 mm. The 25 females that had 
dropped their spermatophores had oocytes that averaged 1.84 zb 0.13 
mm. long. Forty-four nonmated females which were fed for 2, 3, 
