Ovarian control of oostegite formation in the terrestrial isopod, Armadillidium vulgare (Malacostraca, Crustacea).

The correlation between oostegite formation and ovarian maturation was investigated in the isopod Armadillidium vulgare. Females whose ovaries had been removed and males whose androgenic glands had been removed were used in these experiments. Ovariectomy of puberal females did not stop oostegite formation. Whether oostegites develop in puberal females whose ovaries have been removed depends upon the degree of maturation of the ovaries at the time of removal. On the other hand, ovariectomized juvenile females and andrectomized juvenile males were unable to form oostegites when they attained puberty. An extract of vitellogenic ovaries induced oostegite formation in ovariectomized females and andrectomized males, but not in intact males. The ability of ovarian extracts to induce oostegite formation was dose-dependent. The nature of this ovarian factor that induces oostegite formation in A. vulgare remains to be elucidated.