Calcium content and distribution in egg vesicles of Galleria mellonella (Lepidoptera) as determined by X-ray microanalysis.

In egg vesicles of Galleria mellonella (Lepidoptera) electron microprobe analysis reveals calcium in concentrations of 9 and 3 mmoles per 1,000 g tissue wet weight in oocyters and accompanying trophic cells, respectively. This high average level of calcium characterizes both pre- and postvitellogenic oocytes, but the distribution of calcium is not uniform. In postvitellogenic vesicles the central area of the ooplasm shows a higher content of Ca than peripheral one, what may be correlated with the distribution of mature yolk platelets within the ooplasm.