Antijuvenile influence of the precocene on the development of adult antennae in the large fruit-tree tortrix Archips podana Scop. (Lepidoptera: Tortricidae)

The influence of precocene II, an antijuvenile agent, on the development of adult antennae in the large fruit-tree tortrix A. podana Scop. was demonstrated. Treatment of the fifth instar larvae and prepupae with different doses of precocene proved to cause different sensitivity of the specimens to the juvenile hormone deficit. Treatment with 450 and 600 ??g precocene per specimen during the first days after ecdysis to the fifth instar caused the death of larvae. Treatment with 300, 450, and 600 ??g per specimen on the third day of the fifth instar larvae and prepupae caused a delay in the development of adult antennae. The results are discussed with respect to the role of the juvenile hormone in the development of imaginal structures during metamorphosis.