ROLE OF BRAIN, VENTRAL NERVE CORD, AND CORPORA CARDIACA CORPORA ALLATA COMPLEX IN THE REPRODUCTIVE-BEHAVIOR OF FEMALE TOBACCO BUDWORM (LEPIDOPTERA, NOCTUIDAE)

Various surgical treatments were used to determine the role of the bra in, ventral nerve cord (VNC), and corpora cardiaca-corpora allata comp lex in the reproductive behavior of Heliothis virescens (F.). VNC-tran sected females mated successfully and exhibited increased egg producti on after mating, suggesting that an intact VNC is not required for cal ling, sex pheromone emission, mating, or mating-induced oogenesis. The patterns of increase in egg production in decapitated, virgin females and mated, decapitated females were similar. Allatectomized females c alled less overall than did the others, but all females called and wer e able to mate with males. The allatectomized, virgin females produced <20 eggs in total, whereas allatectomized females mated to normal mal es produced approximate to 90 eggs. Mated females decapitated immediat ely after uncoupling produced nearly 3 times as many eggs as decapitat ed, virgin females. Females decapitated at 6 h after uncoupling showed a further significant stimulation in egg maturation. These findings s uggest that the male transfers some factor that, by itself, stimulates oogenesis.