Journal of Insect Science (2004) 4 (28), p. 11 (McNeil et al.)

J.N. McNeil and M. Cusson (2004)
Differential responses to allatostatin in migrant and non-migrant populations of the true armyworm, Pseudaletia unipuncta (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae)
Journal of Insect Science 4 (28), 11-11
Abstracts from Eighth International Conference on the Juvenile Hormones
Abstract: A long term interdisciplinary project has been examining the reproductive biology of migrant (Quebec) and non-migrant (Azores) populations of the true armyworm, Pseudaletia unipuncta. In this species, female sexual maturation is regulated by JH, whose titers vary significantly in response to abiotic cues (temperature and photoperiod) associated with habitat quality. Azorean individuals become sexually mature at a significantly younger age than those from Quebec, and despite having a lower body mass they have a significantly higher lifetime fecundity. However, an examination of JH biosynthesis, as well as JH and JH esterase titers in the hemolymph, clearly shows that the difference between the two populations results from more than just a simple temporal shift for earlier, post-emergence, JH production in the non-migrant population. In addition, new data examining the responses of the corpora allata (CA) from different-aged Quebec and Azorean females to a fixed dose of allatotropin, as well as those from early and late maturing lines selected from the Quebec population, also support the idea that there are complex differences in the reproductive physiology of migrant and non-migrant populations.
Database assignments for author(s): Michel Cusson, Jeremy N. McNeil

Research topic(s) for pests/diseases/weeds:
general biology - morphology - evolution

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Pest and/or beneficial records:

Beneficial	Pest/Disease/Weed	Crop/Product	Country	Quarant.
	Mythimna unipuncta		Canada (east)
	Mythimna unipuncta		Portugal (Azores)