Effect of maternal age on offspring quality in tsetse (Diptera: Glossinidae).

The effects of maternal age on offspring quality were studied in 1 line of Glossina palpalis palpalis Robineau-Desvoidy, 1 line of G. p. gambiensis Vanderplank, and 3 lines of G. morsitans morsitans Westwood by measuring offspring adult size and the duration of puparial period. G. p. gambiensis males also were examined for effects of maternal age on fluctuating asymmetry of wing veins. The puparial period was shorter in offspring of old females (late offspring) than in offspring of young females (early offspring). The difference was small but was greater for male than for female offspring. Early male offspring were larger than late males. Wing vein fluctuating asymmetry was slightly greater in early than in late offspring in G. p. gambiensis. The differences between early and late offspring were very small, and we conclude that old females produce offspring of marginally lower quality than those produced by young females and that these differences are not biologically significant.