Crite reproduction involves hatching from eggs. They are portrayed with a need to eat before laying eggs, but how they produce eggs is not revealed. No mating rituals are shown or discussed in the films, nor the number of eggs a crite can produce at one time.
Reproduction[]
Crites have to eat sufficiently before they lay eggs, but it is unclear how the Crites reproduce since it is never shown or discussed in the films. In Critters 4, Charlie tells Fran that it takes six months for Crite eggs to incubate, but this is contradicted in Critters 3, when the eggs layed at the beginning of the film hatch within the space of only a few hours. It is also unknown if the Crites have specific sexes, or whether they reproduce asexually.
It can be assumed however that their fertility rate is high, given the large number of eggs present in the films. It can also be assumed that the Crites can self-replicate, since in Critters 4, Dr. McCormack is heard explaining that TeraCor is in search of 'a self-replicating predator species' to use in their growth accelerator, and it is suggested that the Crites are of that category, since Counselor Tetra is intent on retrieving the last Crite eggs.
Incubation variations[]
In Critters 4, Charlie tells Fran that it takes six months for Crite eggs to incubate. The incubation time differs to Critters 3 when the eggs hatch within a span of just a few hours. The eggs laid from the first film appear to have remained dormant for two years before they were found and hatched in Critters 2.[1]
The discrepancies in incubation times could be reconciled by temperature playing a factor. In Critters 2 and Critters 3, the eggs seemingly hatch in response to close proximity to heat (a heater and the underside of a truck respectively). This also appears to be a factor in Critters 4 and Critters 2 in which the eggs lie dormant when cryogenically frozen or left in a cold drafty barn and hatch almost immediately when exposed to a warmer temperature. Extremely cold temperatures also seem to have a detrimental effect on eggs, as hairless hatchling crites are shown in Critters 4 when the eggs are laid in a cold incubator.
References[]
Sources[]
- Wikipedia, Critters (film series)