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Miniature Easter eggs hunt!

One of the main symbols of this time of year are the Easter eggs being offered or hunted by young children (and sometimes adults). It’s no coincidence if eggs are being represented during this time of year as it corresponds also to a time during which many animals will lay eggs. Bunny eggs ;-) aside, many people are familiar with eggs laid by birds. But do you know that eggs are also produced by many other organisms? Indeed, well hidden within nature, there are tiny eggs of all kinds of shapes and colors waiting for the ideal moment to hatch and give freedom to miniature insects or even other invertebrates, such as spiders or centipedes. Hunting these little eggs is not an easy task, we must admit. They often go unnoticed by human eyes, and even possible predators. The truth is that not being noticed is one of many protection of these little beings. If we take a good look at it (with a magnifying glass, if necessary), we will notice how tiny they are, and also the wide variety of eggs in nature. This is the unique journey that we present here in this miniature Easter eggs hunt.

Galls on a linden leaf

Galls

Cells no. 1, 6 and 16 of display

What is this strange structure observed on plants? Is it a plant? Or an animal? or both? Galls are structures that originate in a certain organ of a plant in response to the attack of viruses, bacteria, fungi, nematodes, mites or insects. Insect galls, like wasp galls, develop after a female inserts an egg into the plant tissue. In response, the plant will perform mechanical changes and produce new tissues. This chaotic proliferation of cells will provide a microhabitat, food, and physical protection from predators to the egg, which will then hatch as a larva. After the galls’ formation, the larva will develop inside until it is fully grown as an adult (following a last metamorphosis), and then leave. There is, however, no benefits to the plants in most cases for this structure that is both plant and animal. 

Ootheca (Praying mantises)

Cell no. 2 of display

Mantodea (praying mantises) secrete a mass of egg aggregate called an ootheca. The ootheca can be deposited in a place where the nymphs (the younger stage of an adult insect), when they leave it, will quickly find food. Praying mantises use special accessory glands in their abdomen to produce and secrete a foamy substance that coats their eggs, which quickly hardens to a polystyrene-like consistency, thus forming the ootheca. A single female praying mantis can produce several oothecae after mating just once. Newly hatched praying mantises develop inside the ootheca and the foamy box insulates them from the cold and protects them from predators. Tiny nymphs hatch from their eggs while they are still inside the egg carton.

Mantis ootheca of species Empusa pennata)
podagrion2.jpg

Parasited ootheca (Parasitoid wasps)

Cell no. 19 of display

Despite the strategies used by praying mantises to protect the ootheca (see item above, about oothecae), some insects still manage to break through this barrier and prey on the eggs, as is the case with parasitoid wasps (family Torymidae). These wasps pierce the surface of the ootheca with their ovipositor (sword-like structure used to lay eggs) and lay their eggs in the host. Once inside the host body, the larva will hatch from the egg and feed on the internal organs and tissues of the host (just like in the movie Alien). After developing inside the ootheca, consequently killing some of the praying mantises, these wasps rupture the ootheca, leaving the surface of the shell marked with small holes.

Paper wasp on nest, with some eggs.

Paper wasp egg

Cell no. 12 of display (unnatural eggs, for informational purposes only)

Paper wasps (subfamily Polistinae, and also some members of the subfamilies Vespinae – hornets and yellowjackets – and Stenogastrinae) use to construct nests made of what look like gray or brown papery material. Those paper nests are made by adult wasps from fibers collected on dead wood and plant stems and then mixed with saliva to produce a paste that hardens when drying. The nests are usually composed of multiple cells, with one single egg being laid in each hexagonal-shaped cell, and will later develop into a larva.

Neuroptera egg

Cell no. 14 of display (unnatural eggs, for informational purposes only)

Neuroptera (lacewing) eggs may be laid directly in some surfaces or be at the tip of a thread of silk produced by glands in the female’s reproductive system. Those eggs look like they are suspended in the air, but what could the reason be? Eggs represent an important source of food for many other insects; and groups like ants for instance are constantly patrolling to find them. Being at the tip of a stalk, however, those eggs are out of reach of ants which are unable to climb the fine thread of silk. These unusual eggs are thus a good example of an anti-predation strategy, keeping the eggs out of reach of predators that may walk next to the oviposition site.

Lacewing eggs
Potter wasp on the nest.

Potter wasp egg

Cell no. 17 an 18 (unnatural eggs, for informational purposes only)

Potter wasps (subfamily Eumeninae) are diverse in nest building, which most widely used building material is mud made of a mixture of soil and regurgitated water. The nest may have one or several individual brood cells. When a cell is completed, the adult wasp typically collects beetle larvae, spiders, or caterpillars and, paralyzing them, places them in the cell to serve as food for a single wasp larva. This strategy is known as mass provisioning, just like you fill your fridge and cabinets to ensure having enough food. As a normal rule, the adult wasp lays a single egg in the empty cell before provisioning it. More surprising in some species, the female wasp will also trap some mites (Acari) inside the cell that will act as tiny bodyguards of the growing wasp larva, by attacking other organisms that may threaten the larva or the resources stored.

Cocoons

Cells no. 3, 4, 10 and 15 of display

The egg is a developmental stage for all insects, but make no mistake. Not everything is what it seems. Some time after hatching, insect larvae develop into cocoons that often resemble eggs. The cocoon is the protective covering around the pupae or chrysalis of some insects - especially moths. The cocoon is usually made from silk secreted and woven by the caterpillar/larvae before it pupates inside.

Silkworm cocoon.
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