Endocrine manipulations of the crustacean molt cycle have, for many years, been used by researchers to study the molt process. One of the most common induction methods is the
surgical removal of the XO–SG complex (Aiken and Waddy, 1992; Shechter et al., 2005). The removal of the complex results in a decrease in neurosecretion, leading to accelerated synthesis
of ecdysteroids, the onset of premolt and ecdysis. The administration of exogenous ecdysteroids has also been used in many crustacean studies for endocrine manipulation of the molt
cycle. However, this type of manipulation has yielded mixed results, ranging from acceleration of premolt, death at ecdysis or viable ecdysis (Aiken and Waddy, 1992; Dall and Barclay,
1977).