Abstract
IN spite of the overwhelming evidence for the essential roles of the prothoracic glands in the synthesis of moulting hormone and the regulation of insect moulting and development1–3, several instances of moulting without prothoracic glands have been reported, either by extirpation (Galleria mellonella4 and Periplaneta americana5) or by ligation (Tenebrio molitor6 and Dermestes vulpinus7). Little experimental evidence is available to elucidate the significance of this phenomenon. We report here a similar moulting phenomenon observed in the Colorado beetle, Leptinotarsa decemlineata (Say), and demonstrate that the isolated abdomen of this species can produce moulting hormone and moult in the absence of the prothoracic glands.
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HSIAO, T., HSIAO, C. & DE WILDE, J. Moulting hormone production in the isolated larval abdomen of the Colorado beetle. Nature 255, 727–728 (1975). https://doi.org/10.1038/255727a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/255727a0
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