Paedogenesis is the act of reproduction by an organism that has not achieved physical maturity. It is associated with progenesis, where sexual maturity is achieved in the juvenile form and further physical maturity is not achieved. Progenesis is a mechanism in developmental biology that is associated with paedomorphosis. ... Sexual maturity is the stage at which an organism can reproduce. ...

The ability for paedogenesis is found in insects in which the larval stage reproduces without achieving maturity. It occurs in the females of certain beetles, Strepsiptera, bagworms, and gall midges. Orders See taxonomy Insects (Class Insecta) are a major group of arthropods and the most diverse group of animals on the Earth, with over a million described species—more than all other animal groups combined. ... A larva (Latin; plural larvae) is a juvenile form of animal with indirect development, undergoing metamorphosis (for example, insects or amphibians). ... Suborders Adephaga Archostemata Myxophaga Polyphaga See subgroups of the order Coleoptera Beetles are the most diverse group of insects. ... Families Mengenillidae Mengeidae Stylopidae Bohartillidae Corioxenidae Halictophagidae Callipharixenidae Elenchidae Myrmecolacidae Species in the nine families of this small (~600 species) order of insects are parasites in other insects; their hosts include bees, wasps, leafhoppers, silverfish, and cockroaches. ... Binomial name Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis (Haworth, 1803) The Bagworm (Thyridopteryx ephemeraeformis) is a moth that spins its cocoon all its larval life, decorating it with bits of juniper, thuja, cypress, pine, spruce, cedar, and other such conifers, on which it also feeds. ... Cecidomyiidae is the correct name for the insects known as the gall midge. ...

Occasionally, in certain species such as midges, the larva are essentially born pregnant and reproduce quickly. Often, these insects will devour the mother in the process. This process is usually triggered by periods of food abundance in the area and will continue indefinitely until the abundance of food is gone.

While paedogenesis for purposes of reproduction aren't possible with human children, it has been observed that human females who grow up in the presence of males other than direct family will mature sexually at an accelerated rate.^{[citation needed]}

See also

• Progenesis
• Paedomorphism
• Neoteny
• Heterochrony