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Most scyphomedusae are dioecious, though incidences of hermaphroditism have been found. Chrysaora hysocella initially produces male gametes and then female (Arai 1997). In most cases, the fertilized egg develops into a planula larva, which settles to the bottom and grows into the scyphozoan polyp stage, known as a scyphistoma. Scyphistomae may reproduce asexually by budding additional scyphistomae or may produce medusae by strobilation. A strobilating polyp develops transverse fissures, which separate from the stalk to form free‐swimming ephyrae (larvae), which then rapidly grow into adult medusae. Strobilation takes two forms, monodisk strobilation, where the scyphistoma produces one ephyra at a time, and polydisk strobilation, where ephyrae are stacked up like dinner plates on the scyphistoma and are shed by repetitive transverse fission. Scyphistomae may live for several years. After a period of producing ephyrae, usually during the winter and spring, they resume life as a polyp until the following reproductive season.