We are investigating the function of the AVP-like peptide in Tribolium castaneum (Herbst).  Arginine vasopressin-like peptide (AVP-like) in insects was originally described in the locust Locusta migratoria (Linnaeus).  Mining the whole genome sequence of T. castaneum in BeetleBase (http://www.bioinformatics.ksu.edu/BeetleBase/), we were able to identify a putative avp gene encoding both AVP-like peptide and neurophysin.  Searching for this sequence in the Drosophila and Anopheles genomes was unsuccessful, which would suggest that the gene has been lost in higher dipteran insects.  Likewise, a putative AVP-like receptor, which is a novel G protein-coupled receptor, was identified in T. castaneum by BLAST of the genome sequence followed by phylogenic analysis.  The G protein-coupled receptor is in the basal lineage of the tree in phylogenetic analysis of AVP-receptors and related sequences.