Trophic egg:
A trophic egg, in most species that produce them, usually is an unfertilised egg because its function is not reproduction but nutrition; in essence it serves as food for offspring hatched from viable eggs. The production of trophic eggs has been observed in a highly diverse range of species, including fish, amphibians, spiders and insects. The function is not limited to any particular level of parental care, but occurs in sub-social species of insects as well as in Leptodactylus fallax, a species of frog known for its close parental care. [Wikipedia]
Noted in “Lazy ants actually lay eggs for their industrious sisters to eat,” NewScientist (12 August 2017):
What’s more, the eggs they carry might serve as food for other ants – particularly since other ant species are known to lay such unfertilised “trophic” eggs.
“Inactive workers may be storing food for the colony,” says Charbonneau (Integrative and Comparative Biology, doi.org/cbh4).
