Insect growth regulators (IGRs)

Insect growth regulators (IGRs) are compounds that alter the normal growth process of insects and can therefore be used to control insect populations; these compounds interfere with insect metamorphosis, embryogenesis or reproduction. Among them we find compounds that mimic or antagonise insect juvenile hormone activity and substances that inhibit chitin synthesis in the exoskeleton.99 Juvenile hormone analogues provoke mortality at adult emergence, whereas chitin synthesis inhibitors cause mortality in larvae and nymphs; besides, both types of IGRs also cause sterilization in adult insects.


The main advantages of these compounds over other insecticidal substances are that they have a low mammalian toxicity and are often very species-specific insecticides:nevertheless they usually present a slow mode of action and sometimes a low stability.