Larval development following juvenile hormone analogue treatment of eggs of the lesser milkweed bug, Lygaeus kalmii

Abstract

When juvenile hormone analogues were applied to developing embryos of Lygaeus kalmii, at the approximate time of blastokinesis, morphological effects were observed in larval life as well as at the time of metamorphosis. Of particular interest was the finding that the distinctive colour pattern characteristic of early larval instars was retained in later instars. A hypothesis is presented which explains these results and the different results reported in the literature for other insects.