During copulation, males of Heliothis virescens transfer juvenile hormone (JH) from their accessory glands to females. We suspect that the transferred JH influences the female reproductive mechanism by triggering appropriate behavioral changes and stimulating a multitude of endocrine processes, which promote oocyte maturation. In order to examine this hypothesis, males were allatectomozed soon after emergence and when they were 48 hours old, they were alloed to mate with normal females. The significance of male JH for female reproduction is discussed.
Species 1: Lepidoptera Noctuidae Heliothis virescens (tobacco budworm)
Keywords: oocytes, juvenile hormone
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