The production of trophic eggs has been observed in a highly diverse range of species, including fish, amphibians, spiders and insects.
Despite the diversity of species and life strategies in which trophic eggs occur, all trophic egg functions are similarly derived from similar ancestral functions, which once amounted to the sacrifice of potential future offspring in order to provide food for the survival of rival (usually earlier) offspring.
[3] The behaviour of trophic egg-laying species depends highly on their environment and can be modified via adaptive plasticity in response to environmental variation.
When resources are limited, the presence of trophic eggs greatly increases the maturation and survival rates of offspring.
There are some species such as the subsocial burrower bug Canthophorus niveimarginatus (Heteroptera: Cydnidae) whose offspring cannot survive at all without the provision of trophic eggs.
The two main conflicting arguments are: If they have evolved (and are now distinct) from functionless by-products of failed reproduction, then trophic eggs should be more easily available and provide more nutrients to the offspring than their evolutionary predecessors.
If it is difficult for the mother to achieve this synchrony, trophic eggs are a sensible alternative in ensuring that the offspring that hatches will be fed sufficiently.