Insect juvenile hormones and pheromones of isopentenoid biogenesis.

In their diversity, speciation, and sheer numerical superiority, few should question that insects are the dominant life-form on earth. Their utilization of the multifunctional isopentenoids to regulate their life processes is equally diverse. To catalog or even summarize the contribution of isopentenoids in the regulatory chemistry of insect feeding, development, reproduction, diaproduction, diapause, and behavior is beyond the scope of this review. However, a topical treatment of the chemistry of insect juvenile hormones and pheromones provides an insight into the dependence of insects upon isopentenoids.