Abstract
Juvenile hormones (JH) I, II, and III were monitored in hemolymph of virgin and mated females of various ages in Heliothis virescens. JH I was the predominant homologue followed by JH II, but JH II was present at a higher level in young virgin females. JH III was detectable only at a low level. In virgin females, hemolymph JH titers were low at emergence (2.2 ng/ml-total amount of JH I and JH II), but increased thereafter and reached a maximum at 24 h of age (53.5 ng/ml). At 30 h and 36 h of age, JH titers dropped to a low level, but increased again in older virgin females. After mating, JH titers increased significantly. JH titers at 0 h after uncoupling (137.4 ng/ml) were nearly 3 times as high as those in 24-h-old virgin females. Within 6 h after uncoupling, JH titers decreased slightly, but titers increased with age of mated females and reached a level of 320.2 ng/ml hemolymph at 72 h after uncoupling. The titer of JH I and JH II was correlated highly with total number of eggs produced ( r 2=0.70, P<0.001). Mating stimulated JH production, resulting in an increase in egg production.
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