Accidental Radioactive Labelling of a Migratory Moth

Abstract

Radioactive labelling from the Sahara atomic bomb tests (by H. B. D. K.). It has been shown in the laboratory that if the larvæ of Lepidoptera are fed on radioactive foliage for a 24-hr. period, the resulting radioactive imagines can be readily identified. Furthermore, for such an isotope as sulphur-35, the count may actually be higher in the imago than it was in the larva. This is due to the increased surface area of the wings¹. More recently, this method has been put to the test in wild populations². Homometabolous insects, and in particular the Lepidoptera, are in fact ideally suited to this type of labelling.