ecdysone
/ˈɛk.dɪ.soʊn/
noun
- A hormone in insects and other arthropods that controls molting (shedding the outer skin) and metamorphosis (transformation from one life stage to another).
- The level of ecdysone in the insect's body rises just before it molts.
- Without ecdysone, the grasshopper would not be able to shed its old exoskeleton.
- Scientists studied how ecdysone triggers the caterpillar to form a chrysalis.