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Juvenile hormone
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Quick Facts
Also called:
Neotenin
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Juvenile hormone

biochemistry
Also known as: neotenin
Written and fact-checked by
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•History

Juvenile hormone, a hormone in insects, secreted by glands near the brain, that controls the retention of juvenile characters in larval stages. The hormone affects the process of molting, the periodic shedding of the outer skeleton during development, and in adults it is necessary for normal egg production in females. See also thoracotropic hormone.