Quantitative genetics of fertility. I. Lifetime egg production of Drosophila melanogaster--theoretical.

ATED females of Drosophila melanogaster commence egg laying on the second or third day following emergence from the puparium (Figure 1). Oviposition rapidly reaches a maximum during days six to ten post eclosion, depending upon the strain, and subsequently declines geometrically at a constant rate, egg production ceasing just prior to the death of the female (ROBERTSON and SANG 1944; GOWEN and JOHNSON 1946; ROBERTSON 195 7 ) . GOWEN and JOHNSON (1946) showed that lifetime egg production in Drosophila is a function of (1) the maximum daily production, (2) the age of the female at that maximum, ( 3 ) the rate of decline (senescence) from the maximum, (4) the duration of life of the female, and (5) the number of days on