Termination of Adult Diapause by a Juvenile Hormone Analogue in the Bean Bug, Riptortus clavatus

Abstract

Diapausing adults of both sexes of Riptortus clavatus Thunberg were treated topically with a juvenile hormone analogue (JHA). JHA administered at 0.6 or 6 μg/insect induced yolk deposition in all females and complete ovarian development in some of them. It also evoked sexual behavior in most of the males at the same dosage. JHA was even effective in inducing yolk deposition in decapitated females at a dose of 6 μg/insect. Therefore, we concluded that adult diapause in R. clavatus is due to the cessation of JH secretion, and JHA can terminate diapause without intervention of the protocerebral neurosecretion.