The egg stages of animal life cycles are underappreciated in terms of their capacity for dispersal, protection, and biotic and abiotic interactions. Some of the most intriguing egg morphologies are seen in stick and leaf insects (Phasmatodea). Phasmids are charismatic insects, particularly due to their incredible camouflage, though a lesser-known fact is that their eggs are incredibly diverse in shape and structure, reflecting varying ecological niches. Perhaps most remarkable are those eggs which appear to resemble plant seeds in both their appearance and means of dispersal, such as via water and animal vectors. Numerous hypotheses surrounding the function of these egg morphologies and their apparent convergence with seeds have been proposed; however, empirical evidence remains lacking. Here, we present an initial synthesis of available evidence surrounding the ecology and dispersal strategies of phasmid eggs and weigh up the evidence for convergent evolution between phasmid eggs and seeds. In doing so, we highlight areas where further research is needed and discuss how the ecology of phasmid eggs may interplay with other aspects of phasmid ecology, distribution, and evolution.

中文翻译：

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噬菌体的动态卵及其与植物的明显融合。

就其传播，保护以及生物和非生物相互作用的能力而言，动物生命周期的卵期未被充分认识。棒状和叶状昆虫（鳞茎纲）中发现了一些最有趣的卵形。噬菌体是有魅力的昆虫，尤其是由于它们令人难以置信的伪装，尽管鲜为人知的事实是，它们的卵在形状和结构上具有令人难以置信的多样性，反映出生态位的变化。也许最引人注目的是那些看起来像植物种子的鸡蛋，无论是外观还是传播方式，例如通过水和动物载体。已经提出了围绕这些卵形态的功能及其与种子的明显趋同的许多假说。但是，仍然缺乏经验证据。这里，我们提出了关于卵粒卵的生态和扩散策略的现有证据的初步合成，并权衡了卵粒卵与种子之间趋同进化的证据。在这样做的过程中，我们重点介绍了需要进一步研究的领域，并讨论了卵粒生态学如何与卵粒生态学，分布和进化的其他方面相互作用。