LAUSR

The insect egg is the single-celled developmental stage, a resource investment in the next generation, an unusually large and complex cell type, and the protective vessel for embryonic development. In this review, I describe the morphological diversity of insect eggs and then identify recent advances in understanding the patterns of their evolution, the cellular mechanisms underlying their development, and notable aspects of their ecology. I also suggest areas for particularly promising future research on insect egg morphology; these topics touch upon such diverse areas as tissue morphogenesis, life history evolution, organismal scaling, cellular secretion, and oviposition ecology.