Invariance of demographic parameters using total or viable eggs

Abstract

Recently Mou et al. (J. Appl. Entomol., 139, 2015 and 00) recommended that in population studies in which hatch rates vary with maternal age, demographic parameters should be calculated excluding unhatched eggs. A mathematical proof was provided to support this. In this note, we expose a flaw in their proof and show that the demographic parameters do not differ by considering either all eggs or only viable ones, as long as the beginning and end of a generation are defined accordingly.