Some Results on Low-Level Microwave Treatment of the Mountain Pine Beetle and the Darkling Beetle

Various stages of the mountain pine beetle (Dendroctonus ponderosae Hopk.) and pupae of the darkling beetle (Tenebrio molitor L.) were treated in waveguide and in "free space" with a wide range of doses of low-level microwave radiation at 10, 35, and 74 GHz. The insects were found to be more resistant to radiation than previously reported in T. molitor for similar and weaker doses. It is suggested that this lack of response could be due to different physiological conditions in the T. molitor population studied.