The Existence of Deuterotokous Reproduction Mode in the T. tabaci (Thysanoptera: Thripidae) Cryptic Species Complex

The present study aimed to investigate whether adult males could fertilize immature female pupae in the leek (L1) and tobacco-associated (T) Thrips tabaci lineages and to investigate the potential effects of mother to son inbreeding on the appearance of deuterotokous females in the T lineage. To confirm the pupal insemination, a single female pupa was exposed to a single adult male for 24 hours. The removal of a male from the tube that contained the female pupa was made before the female pupa emerged to adulthood. Emerged female adults were isolated and reared individually and the sex of their progeny was determined in the larval stages. To examine a mother and son inbreeding, a single female adult was exposed to her son for 48 hours, and for two consecutive generations, the mode of reproduction was determined by identifying the sex of the progeny. This result showed that pupal insemination was not successful; thus, all the tested females produced only male progeny. Virgin inbred females produced both male and female progeny that refers to deuterotokous reproduction mode. Three virgin females produced a total of 20 females and 75 males in two consecutive generations. A study concluded that deuterotokous mode of reproduction is not a persistent mode of reproduction in the T lineage but is a result of irregularity in the mode of reproduction, and it might be changed because of brother and sister inbreeding and need further studies.