They have a twofold function: they both inhibit the generation of juvenile hormone[1] and reduce their food intake.
[3] Each Allatostatin type has a unique evolutionary history resulting in distinct conservation and functions across the animal kingdom.
It is also present in the axons which leave the frontal ganglion and run across the surface of the gut.
In every insect tested, at least one of the three types of Allatostatin inhibits the biosynthesis of juvenile hormone.
This is achieved by paracrine release of Allatostatin from neurons in the brain which terminate in the corpora allata.