Science
Stick insects that are normally asexual may occasionally have sex
![](https://i0.wp.com/images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/19104129/SEI_172286799.jpg?resize=780%2C470&ssl=1)
![Timema monikense Vickery & Sandoval 1998./ Santa Monica Mountains National Recreation Area.](https://images.newscientist.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/09/19104129/SEI_172286799.jpg?width=1200)
The stick insect Timema monikense normally reproduces asexually
Vickery & Sandoval (Public domain)
Two supposedly asexual species of stick insects may engage in occasional bouts of sex, helping to widen their gene pool and avoid harmful mutations.
A handful of animals reproduce asexually, primarily through a process known as parthenogenesis, which involves creating embryos from unfertilised eggs. Species that do this include some insects, reptiles and fish.
“All members of a parthenogenetic population can produce offspring, so they have this huge demographic advantage,” says Darren Parker at Bangor University in the UK. This is because …
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