Polyembryony

Polyembryony is the phenomenon of two or more embryos developing from a single fertilized egg (in humans, identical twins). Polyembryony occurs regularly in many plants and animals. The nine banded armadillo, for instance, usually gives birth to four identical young. Polyembryony is best known among parasitoid insects of the order Hymenoptera, families Encyrtidae, Dryinidae, Platygastridae and Braconidae. The term is also used in botany to describe the phenomenon of two seedlings emerging from one seed.