Control of prothoracic gland activity in larvae of Galleria mellonella

Abstract

Prothoracic glands of last instar wax moth larvae maintain spontaneous secretory activity both in decapitated larvae and in isolated abdomens into which they have been transplanted, as judged by their ability to induce secretion of a new cuticle. Their activity is hormonally stimulated by the brain and inhibited by the prothoracic and mesothoracic ganglia. The subesophageal ganglion seems to suppress the inhibitory influence of the thoracic ganglia. The prothoracic glands of larvae decapitated at different times during the last instar all respond to brain implantation, and this response does not change when brains are implanted at increasing intervals after decapitation. The prothoracotropic activity of the isolated brain is highest in brains of pupae and adults but is relatively and consistently low in brains of last instar larvae. The results demonstrate that the control of prothoracic glands is a complex process governed by the nervous integration of various stimuli.