While sex without reproduction seems like a better goal, I heard that turkeys can actually reproduce without sex. I know they’re stupid/primitive, but can this be true? –Rory Pfotenhauer, Delores, Colorado
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You heard right, compadre. Parthenogenesis–reproduction without benefit of sex–occurs spontaneously in a handful of species, most of them fairly simple but some surprisingly complex. The turkey is the foremost example of the latter group, with the virgin birth rate in some breeds approaching 40 percent. Parthenogenesis also occurs in some lizards. The New Mexico whiptail lizard, for example, is a nearly all-female species that reproduces almost exclusively by parthenogenesis, males occurring only rarely. A few years ago a biologist was startled to discover that a snake he’d raised from its second day of life had produced a litter, even though it had never been in the company of a male. Yow! he realized, snakes too can reproduce parthenogenetically. However, while the virgin birth explanation may satisfy a scientist, I still wouldn’t try it with dad.
Do they really make chocolate-covered ants? Do people really eat them? Why? –Mike Wright, via the Internet
