Effective sexual signaling systems are essential for insect reproduction. To avoid wasting reproductive effort and energy, these systems are typically connected with adult reproductive maturity. As a result, variables that affect sexual maturity must be closely coordinated with endogenous mechanisms that regulate signaling systems. For instance, juvenile hormone (JH) synchronizes pheromone generation with gonadotropic activity cycles in the German cockroach, Blatella germanica. Additionally, sexual signaling and reproductive maturity, as indicated by the development of mature eggs, are closely coordinated in insects that do not have cycles of reproductive activity but enter reproductive diapause at specific times, such as the moths Pseudaletia unipuncta and Agrotis ipsilon. Females in each of these moth species need JH to start calling behavior, produce sex pheromones, and create eggs. It is well known that sexual signaling by males and female responses are closely synchronized with reproductive maturity in the Caribbean fruit fly, Anastrepha suspensa (Loew), despite the fact that no studies have specifically examined the hormonal coordination of reproductive maturity with sexual signaling in this species. Additionally, ovarian maturity and female reproductive behavior, particularly pheromone responsiveness, are directly connected. Similar to how female ovaries mature and begin to initiate sexual contact, developmental studies of male salivary and multiple glands—both probable sources of pheromone production—showed that these glands grow to their maximal size at the same time. As a result, neither males nor females participate in sexual behaviors until at least seven days after adult emergence, when they have reached reproductive maturity. These data imply that adult flies go through a hormonally controlled phase during which secondary sexual characteristics and gametes grow. Males mature sexually earlier than the bulk of the population, likely because they are larger and have sufficient energy reserves.

Title: Tales of Hope: Rescued Animals Finding Forever Homes