Iberian Ant Queens Cloning Multiple Species to Produce Hybrid Workers
TL;DR
Iberian harvester ant queens exhibit a unique reproductive strategy by cloning males of another species, Messor structor, to produce hybrid workers, challenging traditional notions of species boundaries and revealing a novel form of reproduction called 'xenoparous'.
- Iberian harvester ant queens are cloning different species to produce hybrid workers Phys.org
- One mother for two species via obligate cross-species cloning in ants Nature
- Queen ant makes males of another species for daughters to mate with New Scientist
- ‘Messor ibericus’: The ant that lays eggs of two different species EL PAÍS English
- "Impossible To Imagine": Queen Ants Produce Babies Of 2 Different Species, And It's Never Been Seen Before IFLScience
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