Table of Contents
- Hormones in Animals
- Metamorphosis in Insects
- Metamorphosis in Frogs
- Summary
- What’s Next?
In the previous segment of the chapter ‘Reaching the Age of Adolescence’, we learnt about the hormones other than sex hormones. In this segment, let us get acquainted with the hormones in animals.
How are hormones connected to metamorphosis in animals?
The process in which an organism undergoes changes in the physical form as a part of development is called Metamorphosis.
For example, caterpillars turning into butterflies, tadpoles turning into frogs, etc. These changes in the animals are caused by Hormones.
How do hormones help in the metamorphosis of insects?
- A larva undergoes several stages of development called the Instar. When this larva turns into a pupa and then into an adult, it mostly sheds its outermost skin layer which is known as the Moulting process.
- An important group of hormones called Juvenile Hormones, secreted by endocrine glands, promote growth in the larva by inhibiting metamorphosis. As a result, the larva only grows in size and not morphologically.
- Metamorphosis occurs when the larva enters the pupa stage. Once the pupa stage is reached, it encloses itself in a shell and remains almost dormant till the body develops completely. Later, the pupa gets converted into an adult.
- There are many other hormones in the insect body that are responsible for moulting and other developmental processes.
