# Fecundity

> The number of eggs or live young a female produces, per day or in her lifetime; a key life-table input.

- Canonical: https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/fecundity.html
- Also written: lifetime fecundity, eggs per female, oviposition rate
- Glossary category: Pests and diseases · Evidence: Established
- Status: Draft: awaiting expert review · Updated: 2026-10-31
- Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), attribute "GenetixBay cannabis glossary"

Fecundity is the reproductive output of a female, given per day (oviposition rate) or over her life. Small [mites](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/two-spotted-spider-mite.md) lay a few eggs a day for one to three weeks, while a single noctuid moth such as the [corn earworm](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/corn-earworm.md) can lay hundreds to a few thousand eggs. Temperature and host quality change fecundity strongly.

## In practice

Fecundity alone misleads. What matters is how early the eggs come: a female laying most of her eggs in her first days pushes r_m much higher than one spreading the same total over weeks. Over-fertilised, nitrogen-rich soft growth tends to raise fecundity in sap and cell feeders (Grower practice, supported in other crops).

## Don't confuse with

- **Fertility**: eggs that hatch, not just eggs laid.
- **R0**: daughters that survive, after mortality.

## Related terms

[Life table](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/life-table.md), [Intrinsic rate of increase (r_m)](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/intrinsic-rate-of-increase.md), [Net reproductive rate (R0)](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/net-reproductive-rate.md), [Sex ratio](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/sex-ratio.md)

## Read more

- [Temperature, humidity and pest population growth in cannabis: every major pest compared](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/pests/temperature-humidity-and-pest-population-growth.md)

## Sources

1. Birch, L.C., 1948. The intrinsic rate of natural increase of an insect population. Journal of Animal Ecology 17:15-26. https://doi.org/10.2307/1605