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Land colonization was a major event in the history of life. Among animals, insects exerted a staggering terrestrialization success, due to traits usually associated with post-embryonic life stages, while the egg stage has been largely overlooked in comparative studies. In many insects, after blastoderm differentiation, the extraembryonic serosal tissue wraps the embryo and synthesizes the serosal cuticle, an extracellular matrix that lies beneath the eggshell and protects the egg against water loss. In contrast, in non-insect hexapods such as springtails (Collembola) the early blastodermal cells synthesize a blastodermal cuticle. Here, we investigate the relationship between blastodermal cuticle formation and egg resistance to desiccation in the springtailsOrchesella cinctaandFolsomia candida, two species with different oviposition environments and developmental rates. The blastodermal cuticle becomes externally visible inO. cinctaandF. candidaat 22 and 29% of embryogenesis, respectively. To contextualize, we describe the stages of springtail embryogenesis, exemplified byF. candida. Our physiological assays then showed that blastodermal cuticle formation coincides with an increase in egg viability in a dry environment, significantly contributing to hatching success. However, protection differs between species: whileO. cinctaeggs survive at least 2 hours outside a humid environment, the survival period recorded forF. candidaeggs is only 15 minutes, which correlates with this species’ requirement for humid microhabitats. We suggest that the formation of this cuticle protects the eggs, constituting an ancestral trait among hexapods that predated and facilitated the process of terrestrialization that occurred during insect evolution.Research HighlightsThe formation of the blastodermal cuticle produced during early embryogenesis coincides with a higher protection against water loss in springtail (Collembola) eggs.Orchesella cinctaeggs are more resistant to drought thanFolsomia candidaones.The formation of a protective egg cuticle would be an ancestral trait among hexapods that facilitated their process of terrestrialization.Graphical AbstractGraphical Abstract legend:Eggs when laid uptake water but are also prone to water loss. Late eggs acquire some protection against water loss, but at different levels, depending on the species.

Many arthropods and the majority of insects lay their eggs without parental care. These immobile stages of life must rely on the various eggshell layers deposited upon the developing embryo to survive biotic and abiotic stresses such as desiccation, flooding, predators and pathogens. At the same time, these protective layers must allow sperm entry and gas exchanges. During insect oogenesis most of these layers are deposited by the follicle cells: vitelline membrane, wax layer, innermost chorionic layer, endochorion and exochorion. Follicle cells will also produce some regions with chorionic complexities such as micropyles, aeropyles and the operculum. After fertilization and egg deposition, the developing egg of insects and other arthropods produces a blastodermal or serosal cuticle, which is located below the vitelline membrane and serves as an additional protective extracellular structure. Through a literature survey comprising more than 40 species this chapter is dedicated to the description of the formation, structure and physiology of these multilayered and multiregional composite structures as well as the cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying it.

Mosquito vectors lay their white eggs in the aquatic milieu. During early embryogenesis water passes freely through the transparent eggshell, which at this moment is composed of exochorion and endochorion. Within two hours the endochorion darkens via melanization but even so eggs shrink and perish if removed from moisture. However, during mid-embryogenesis, cells of the extraembryonic serosa secrete the serosal cuticle, localized right below the endochorion, becoming the third and innermost eggshell layer. Serosal cuticle formation greatly reduces water flow and allows egg survival outside the water. The degree of egg resistance to desiccation (ERD) at late embryogenesis varies among different species: Aedes aegypti, Anopheles aquasalis and Culex quinquefasciatus eggs can survive in a dry environment for ≥ 72, 24 and 5 hours, respectively. In some adult insects, darker-body individuals show greater resistance to desiccation than lighter ones. We asked if egg melanization enhances mosquito serosal cuticle-dependent ERD. Species with higher ERD at late embryogenesis exhibit more melanized eggshells. The melanization-ERD hypothesis was confirmed employing two Anopheles quadrimaculatus strains, the wild type and the mutant GORO, with a dark-brown and a golden eggshell, respectively. In all cases, serosal cuticle formation is fundamental for the establishment of an efficient ERD but egg viability outside the water is much higher in mosquitoes with darker eggshells than in those with lighter ones. The finding that pigmentation influences egg water balance is relevant to understand the evolutionary history of insect egg coloration. Since eggshell and adult cuticle pigmentation ensure insect survivorship in some cases, they should be considered regarding species fitness and novel approaches for vector or pest insects control., Author summary Mosquitoes transmit various causative agents of diseases and the blockage of vector life cycle is an effective way to hamper disease transmission. The egg is the least known life stage and understanding it can contribute with novel strategies for mosquito control. Mosquitoes lay eggs in water collections, some of which are temporary. At early embryogenesis eggs are prone to lose water, leading to dehydration and death. During embryogenesis the serosal cuticle is produced, it wraps the embryo and contributes to the egg protection, allowing it to survive outside the water. Curiously, this resistance varies among mosquitoes: Aedes, Anopheles and Culex eggs can survive outside the water for long, intermediate and short periods, respectively. Here, we show that these differences are related to the degree of eggshell melanization (melanin is a dark pigment): darker eggs resists more against water loss. We confirmed that melanin increases survival outside the water employing a mosquito mutant that does not melanize properly. The protection conferred by melanin is dependent on the formation of the serosal cuticle. Our results contribute to the study of the evolution of egg coloration in insects and we identified one of the reasons why Aedes aegypti eggs survive for several months outside water.