The volumetric changes of the corpora allata (CA) during the first 15 days of imaginal life of Blatta orientalis L. (Dictyoptera, Blattidae) are studied in connection with the growth of the accessory reproductive glands (GSAM). Both, the CA and the GSAM, grow in parallel during the first 3-4 days of imaginal life, which suggests a possible functional link between both organs. If the CA are explained on freshly ecdysed adults, then GSAM protein accumulation is reduced (by 35%) when checked on day 5, and administration of juvenile hormone (JH) restores normal development. However, when the effects of allatectomy are studied on day 12, no significant differences with respect to the controls are observed. These results suggest that JH is not strictly necessary for protein synthesis in the GSAM of B. orientalis although it has a stimulatory effect on this synthesis.