Anti Juvenile Hormone Agents

Abstract

The discovery and subsequent development of efficaceous juvenoids such as methoprene (Figure la) as functional mimics of the endogenous juvenile hormones (207; Figure lb. c) inspired thoughts that the reverse principle, anti juvenile hormone action, could be explored to complement the use of ju­ venoids. Such chemicals could be useful for those circumstances in which the continuation of some larval damage after treatment is not acceptable. This is the case in most field crop situations, in which use of fast-acting neuroactive pesticides is still the standard way to control pests. Because precocious metamorphosis results from surgical ablation of the corpora aJlata, it was reasonable to speculate that if chemical antagonists could be found that would be as effective as the surgical procedure they would be useful as control agents, provided that other characteristics such as selectivity,