oviposition

English

Female parasitic fly ovipositing into the abdomen of a worker honey bee

Etymology

From oviposit +‎ -ion.

Noun

oviposition (usually uncountable, plural ovipositions)

1. (zoology) The process of laying eggs, or ovipositing.
   • 1963, Ellsworth C. Dougherty, “Other Disciplines of Comparative Biology”, in The Lower Metazoa: Comparative Biology and Phylogeny, Berkley: University of California Press, page 474:

     If an opsiblastic egg is produced by an individual, it is usually the last oviposition by that animal even if it is also the first.

Derived terms

• ovipositional
• postoviposition
• preoviposition

 

Related terms

• ovipositor