Structural requirements for activity of juvenile hormone mimetic compounds against various insects

The activity of a set of insect juvenile hormone (JH) mimetics was examined against the metamorphosis of Musca domestica, Spodoptera litura, and Nephotettix cineticeps larva, the hatching of S. litura eggs, and the propagation of Aphis gossypi nymphs. The structures of the compounds were varied systematically in their dimensions and the position of a functional group. These 4-alkyl-, 4-alkoxy-, 4-benzyl-, and 4-phenoxyphenyl alkyl ether compounds had functions such as ether, oxime, hydroxylamine, ester, amide, carbamate, benzene, and pyridine in the alkane moiety. The structure vs activity profiles were collated with those previously found for Culex pipiens, and the results showed that the information on the mode of action obtained for one species of insects could be transposed to another, by which means the structural factors important for potency could be identified.