Invertebrates: Reproduction and Life Cycle
Invertebrates: Reproduction and Life Cycle Invertebrates display a wide variety of methods of reproduction. Some invertebrates reproduce by asexual reproduction, in which all offspring are genetically identical to the parent. Asexual reproduction methods include fragmentation, in which animals divide into two or more offspring, and budding, in which animals sprout buds that break away to take up life on their own. The majority of invertebrates reproduce sexually. The genes from two parents recombine to produce genetically unique individuals. For most invertebrates, sexual reproduction involves laying eggs. With a few exceptions, such as scorpions and spiders, most invertebrates abandon their eggs as soon as they are laid, leaving them to develop on their own. When invertebrate eggs hatch, the animals that emerge often look nothing like their parents. Some are so different that, in the past, zoologists mistook them for entirely new species. Young like this are known as larvae. As they g...