Hormonal modulation of reproduction in Polistes fuscatus social wasps: Dual functions in both ovary development and sexual receptivity.

ABSTRACT: Hormones are often major regulators of complex behaviors, such as mating and reproduction. In insects, juvenile hormone (JH) is integral to many components of reproductive physiology and behavior, but its role in female sexual receptivity is not well understood. To investigate the influence of JH on receptivity, we utilized the social wasp Polistes fuscatus. In Polistes, mating behavior is temporally separated from other components of reproduction, which allows for examination of the physiology and behavior of mating, disentangled from fertilization and egg-laying. We reared virgin gynes (reproductive females) in the lab and divided them into four groups, in which gynes received multiple topical treatments of either 20 μg, 10 μg, 5 μg, or 0 μg of the JH analog methoprene. Gynes were then p

SUBMITTER: Walton A 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7558460 | biostudies-literature | 2020 Jan

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature