Adaptive significance of insect egg coloration
How do insect eggs survive in the wild? They can't flee or seek shelter when facing danger, and most species of insects don't brood their offspring. Yet, eggs face many different kinds of threats, both biotic (e.g. predators, parasitoids, pathogens, etc.) and abiotic (desiccation, heavy rainfall, harmful solar radiation, etc.) in nature. Alternative defensive strategies are thus required to compensate for egg immobility. Included in those is adaptive coloration.
There are a few known examples of defensive coloration in insect eggs, including conspicuous warning (aposematic signals) advertizing toxicity, or photoprotective pigments acting as sunscreen to protect the embryo against UV rays (see picture). However, considering the huge diversity of insect eggs out there, it is obvious that we are only beginning to understand how valuable egg coloration is to offspring survival and parent fitness.
There are a few known examples of defensive coloration in insect eggs, including conspicuous warning (aposematic signals) advertizing toxicity, or photoprotective pigments acting as sunscreen to protect the embryo against UV rays (see picture). However, considering the huge diversity of insect eggs out there, it is obvious that we are only beginning to understand how valuable egg coloration is to offspring survival and parent fitness.
Evolutionary ecology of multiple anti-predation strategies
Lifestage-specific defenses (coming soon!)
Sequential lines of defense (coming soon!)
Sequential lines of defense (coming soon!)