Necessity of juvenile hormone for choriogenesis in the moth,Heliothis virescens(Noctuidae)

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Abstract
Hormones such as ecdysone, juvenile hormone and neurosecretions have been shown to regulate vitellogenesis, the process of yolk synthesis and deposition, in insects. Surprisingly, although choriogenesis, the process of eggshell formation, has been studied from biochemical, morphological, and genetic viewpoints, little is known of its hormonal regulation. We report here that juvenile hormone (JH) is essential for choriogenesis in the tobacco budworm moth, Heliothis virescens. Decapitated adult females are unable to deposit the chorion, or eggshell, while injection of JH III into decapitated females results in production of chorionated eggs comparable to that in normal females 24 h later. This suggests that JH alone is sufficient to restore choriogenic capabilities in decapitated moths. Treatment with 20-hydroxyecdysone does not restore choriogenesis in decapitated insects. Choriogenesis in virgin H. virescens females is inhibited in a dose-dependent manner by precocene II but not by precocene I.

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