The initiation of pre-ecdysis and ecdysis behaviors in larval Manduca sexta: the roles of the brain, terminal ganglion and eclosion hormone.

Each larval molt of Manduca sexta culminates in the sequential performance of pre-ecdysis (cuticle loosening) and ecdysis (cuticle shedding) behaviors. Both behaviors are thought to be triggered by the release of a peptide, eclosion hormone (EH), from brain neurons whose axons extend the length of the nervous system. EH bioactivity appears in the hemolymph at the onset of pre-ecdysis behavior, and EH injection can trigger pre-ecdysis and ecdysis behaviors prematurely. The present study examined the effects of removing or disconnecting portions of the central nervous system prior to the time of EH release on the initiation of pre-ecdysis and ecdysis behaviors at the final larval molt. We found that the initiation of pre-ecdysis abdominal compressions at the appropriate time required the terminal abdominal ganglion (AT) but not the brain; the initiation of pre-ecdysis proleg retractions at the appropriate time required neither the AT nor the brain; the initiation of ecdysis at the appropriate time usually required the brain but did not require the AT; and premature pre-ecdysis (but not ecdysis) could be elicited in isolated abdomens by injection of EH. Finally, pre-ecdysis behavior performed by brainless larvae was not associated with the normal elevation of EH bioactivity in the hemolymph or the normal loss of EH immunoreactivity from peripheral neurohemal release sites.