PARTHENOGENESIS IN COPTOPTERYX VIRIDIS, GIGLIO TOS (1915) (DYCTIOPTERA, MANTIDAE)

Several years of observations of the behavior of the mantid Coptoteryx viridis suggested evidence of parthenogenesis in this species. C. viridis is a solitary, sedentary animal, where the female often kills the male before copulation takes place, and the average male adult life is half that of the female. Virgin females were reared in our laboratory from their hatching to the end of their lives; these laid oothecas. From these oothecas, parthenogenetic nymphs were born, all of the female sex and with a very low viability. The karyo-type of the non-parthenogenetic individuals of this species was found to be XO-XX with a diploid number of 27 chromosomes for the male and 28 for the female. The autosomes were acrocentric or "t" type while the X chromosome was subtelocentric or "st" type, according to Levan's classification.