An ootheca oʊ.əˈθiːkə is a type of egg

Egg (biology)

An egg is an organic vessel in which an embryo first begins to develop. In most birds, reptiles, insects, molluscs, fish, and monotremes, an egg is the zygote, resulting from fertilization of the ovum, which is expelled from the body and permitted to develop outside the body until the developing...

 mass made by any member of a variety of species (usually insects or mollusks).

The word is a latinized combination of oo-, meaning "egg", from the Greek word ōon (cf. Latin ovum

Ovum

An ovum is a haploid female reproductive cell or gamete. Both animals and embryophytes have ova. The term ovule is used for the young ovum of an animal, as well as the plant structure that carries the female gametophyte and egg cell and develops into a seed after fertilization...

), and theca, meaning a "cover" or "container", from the Greek theke. Ootheke in Greek means ovary

Ovary

The ovary is an ovum-producing reproductive organ, often found in pairs as part of the vertebrate female reproductive system. Ovaries in anatomically female individuals are analogous to testes in anatomically male individuals, in that they are both gonads and endocrine glands.-Human anatomy:Ovaries...

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An ootheca usually contains many eggs surrounded by a foam of protein

Protein

Proteins are biochemical compounds consisting of one or more polypeptides typically folded into a globular or fibrous form, facilitating a biological function. A polypeptide is a single linear polymer chain of amino acids bonded together by peptide bonds between the carboxyl and amino groups of...

 which may then harden into a tough casing for protection. Notable ootheca-making insects are the mantis and cockroach

Cockroach

Cockroaches are insects of the order Blattaria or Blattodea, of which about 30 species out of 4,500 total are associated with human habitations...

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External links

• Photo of a madagascar hissing cockroach ootheca
• Photograph of a praying mantis ootheca