During the pupal and adult stages, the JHBP levels displayed a sexrelated difference, with females showing higher levels than males, A sharp increase in JHBP levels was observed at day 2 of the pupal stage. After day 2 the JHBP titer declined precipitously, and then remained unchanged until day 12 in males. JHBP titers in females decreased slightly after day 2 and then remained relatively constant until day 12. In both sexes, the JHBP levels showed a steep increase and peaked around day 15. During the previtellogenic period, the JHBP titers declined dramatically until adult ecdysis. During early adult stage, JHBP titiers in the female remained constant at preecdysis level. This information could broaden our understanding of pest physiology during adult metamorphosis, and could have extensive implications for developing insect growth regulators to control agricultural pests.
