INSECT EGGS:

For most Insects life begin in the form of an egg.
Egg-laying process varies depending on the insect family.
Some lay eggs whole year-round while other once a year or more.
Insects may pass unfavourable seasons in the egg stage.
The egg structure is like this:

A small dictionary (partial) for this theme.

Ovipary= type of reproduction achieved by laying of eggs.
oviposition= the egg laying process.
öogenesis= production of eggs by the female insect.
Nucleus= egg cell in yolk.
Aeropyles= microscopic perforations in the egg shell.
Micropyles= an opening that serves as inlet for sperm during fertilization.
Periplasm= the outher side of the yolk.
Ootheca= an egg packet ( more than one egg together in a packet ).
Spermatheca= a part of the female reproductive system to store sperm.
Ovipositor= a pipe-like, or blade-like component of the insect's external
genitalia to release the egg.

Insect eggs comes in a variety of shapes and sizes.
Some shape include: oval, conical, barrel-shaped, torpedo-shaped
sausage-shaped and spherical.
Each egg (does not matter if it's long-shaped) contain only one cell.
An Egg-case is something else, here a case can hold different eggs and
each egg with it's single cell.
Insects like Cockroaches and Mantids lays batch of eggs that is glued together
to form an egg packet or ootheca.
All eggs has microscopic perforations (Aeropyles) that allow
the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide while preventing
little loss of water inside the egg.

FERTILIZATION:
During mating, sperm is collected by the female. This sperm can be stored
for a long period in a part of her body called Spermatheca.
When an egg is produced, and it passes along the Spermatheca,
some sperm will be released to the surface of the egg.
The first sperm to swim and arrive at the Micropyle will place
it's nucleus in the egg. This nucleus will merge with the nucleus of
the egg and become a single-cell embryo. This is called Fertilization.

IMMATURES:
Not all insect offspring show a resemblance of their parents.
One of the reasons is the following:
Some insects (hemimetabolous) produce eggs with much yolk and the offspring
in the shell has the appearance of it's parents.
Some other insects (holometabolous) produce smaller eggs with little yolk
and therefore the offspring will hatch in a form that does not resemble
it's parents.

100 OR 1000 EGGS ?
Why do insects lay so many eggs?
In Larvae-stage a few of their offspring will die or be eaten.
The same is the case when their offspring is in the first instar or
as a young adult insect.
For just a few to reach the point to reproduce, ( pass the gene )
they will have to lay enough eggs.

Be aware:
Nowadays some plants are beginning to produce fake eggs.
These plants are being eaten (defoliated) by caterpillars and
other Lavae. To mislead the Adult female that lay eggs on it's leaves
the plant produce these fake eggs. The adult insect will not lay eggs
when she discover that eggs are already layed on the plant.
The plants' fake eggs then, help protect the plant from the Larvae
that eats it's leaves.