Editing Lepidoptera (section)

==== Eggs ====

Lepidoptera usually reproduce sexually and are [[oviparous]] (egg-laying), though some species exhibit live birth in a process called [[ovoviviparity]]. A variety of differences in [[egg]]-laying and the number of eggs laid occur. Some species simply drop their eggs in flight (these species normally have polyphagous larvae, meaning they eat a variety of plants e. g., [[hepialid]]s and some [[Nymphalidae|nymphalids]])<ref name="Wiklund">{{Cite journal |last=Wiklund |first=Christer |date=July 1984 |title=Egg-laying patterns in butterflies in relation to their phenology and the visual apparency and abundance of their host plants |journal=[[Oecologia]] |volume=63 |issue=1 |pages=23–29|doi=10.1007/BF00379780|pmid=28311161 |bibcode=1984Oecol..63...23W |s2cid=29210301 }}</ref> while most lay their eggs near or on the host plant on which the larvae feed. The number of eggs laid may vary from only a few to several thousand.<ref name="cgillott"/> The females of both butterflies and moths select the host plant instinctively, and primarily, by chemical cues.<ref name="Resh and Carde"/>{{Rp|564}}

The eggs are derived from materials ingested as a larva and in some species, from the spermatophores received from males during mating.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Oberhauser |first1=Karen S. |author-link1=Karen Oberhauser |last2=Solensky |first2=Michelle J |title=The Monarch Butterfly: Biology and Conservation |year=2004 |publisher=Cornell University Press |location=Ithaca NY |isbn=978-0801441882 |edition=First |ref={{harvid|Oberhauser2004}} |url=https://archive.org/details/monarchbutterfly00mich }}</ref> An egg can only be 1/1000 the mass of the female, yet she may lay up to her own mass in eggs. Females lay smaller eggs as they age. Larger females lay larger eggs.{{sfn|Oberhauser|2004|p=24}} The egg is covered by a hard-ridged protective outer layer of shell, called the [[chorion]]. It is lined with a thin coating of [[wax]], which prevents the egg from drying out. Each egg contains a number of [[micropyle (zoology)|micropyles]], or tiny funnel-shaped openings at one end, the purpose of which is to allow sperm to enter and fertilize the egg. Butterfly and moth eggs vary greatly in size between species, but they are all either spherical or ovate.

The egg stage lasts a few weeks in most butterflies, but eggs laid prior to winter, especially in [[temperate region]]s, go through [[diapause]], and hatching may be delayed until spring. Other butterflies may lay their eggs in the spring and have them hatch in the summer. These butterflies are usually temperate species (e. g. ''[[Nymphalis antiopa]]'').