Chemistry and Biochemistry of Insect Hormones

Abstract

Abstract Insect hormones attracted the interest of endocrinologists only comparatively recently. This is partly due to the fact that an equivalent of sex hormones – the classical hormones of vertebrate physiology – is unknown in insects. Castration has no marked effect on the secondary sexual characters. Insect hormones act primarily on developmental processes; the metamorphosis hormone, ecdysone, is the best studied. Recent investigations have shown that ecdysone has the empirical formula C 27 H 44 O 6 and belongs to the streroids. The mechanism of its action is seen in its influence on the chromosomes. – Other hormone‐like substances, the pheromones, are outstanding for their high activity; a few molecules are sufficient to trigger the characteristic behavioural response.