Influence of Farnesyl Methyl Ether on the Metamorphosis of Blattella Germanica (L.).

Abstract

When farnesyl methyl ether was applied to a metathoracic trochanteral wound surface of specifically aged nymphs of Blattella germanica (L.), nymphal characters persisted after metamorphosis in the prothoracic shield, cerci, male subgenital sterna, the general facies of the abdomen, and certain structures of the male external genitalia. The juvenilising effects of treatment in the sixth (final) instar were more marked than in the fifth, and treatment in the fourth instar showed least effect. The morphology of all adult structures, with the exception of the prothoracic shield, was irrevocably committed at or slightly before the critical period for regeneration of the final nymphal instar. Aspects of the control of this commitment by endogenous hormones and the applied juvenoid are discussed.