[NatureNS] Insect hatching times

Date: Wed, 13 Oct 2010 00:06:03 -0300
From: Steve Shaw <srshaw@dal.ca>
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Phil may be correct or close, but a general answer is that this timing  
is not precisely known for most insects.  Furthermore this is not  
considered the prime 'need to know' variable scientifically, simply  
because the timing varies a lot between individual eggs even in one  
batch -- they usually develop at different rates and don't always all  
hatch at once.  What needs to be clear for reference is a series of  
recognizable developmental stages.

Developmental biologists need to be able to 'stage' their eggs ->  
embryos -> larvae etc, referring to visible external signs (like  
appearance of certain cell divisions, pigmentation) in a standardized  
way after an egg's fertilization.  Well-defined 'staging' is needed in  
order to be able to carefully document and repeat when other features  
of particular note differentiate during development, such as the  
expression of some gene of interest, or later, certain muscles.  These  
appearances will proceed at different rates in different individuals,  
so it would be more usual to express their appearances relative to one  
of the pre-established stages of development, rather than to the exact  
time elapsed.

To establish a proper staging requires a lot of work using fancy  
microscopes and associated methods (eggs are tiny and most useful ones  
are transparent), if this is to be used reliably by all workers in the  
field.  This is why staging been studied carefully only in a few key  
species like the fruitfly Drosophila melanogaster, which as  
scientifically important developmental models are deemed worth the  
effort.
Steve, Halifax


Quoting Phil Schappert <philjs@eastlink.ca>:
>> What species of insect has the shortest hatching time? That is, the time
>> from when an egg is fertilized until the time the insect hatches. Is
>> hatching time the correct name for this?
>
> Check out the "Book of Insect Records" at the University of Florida,  
> http://entnemdept.ufl.edu/walker/ufbir/
>
> It appears that the shortest life cycle (egg to egg) is a mosquito  
> (5 to 6 days for the entire life cycle) so it's likely that the  
> shortest egg to larval emergence time is for a mosquito.
>
> Phil
>
> -- 
> Phil Schappert, PhD


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