Adactylidium
Adactylidium is a genus of mites. It is known for its short adult life cycle.[1] The pregnant female mite attaches herself to a single egg of a thrip.[2] She grows from five to eight female wikt:offspring and one male in her body. The offspring begin to eat their mother from the inside out.[3] The single male mite mates with all his sisters when they are still in the mother.[2] The females, now pregnant, cut holes in their mother's body. This is so that they can get out to find new thrips eggs.[2] The male gets out too. But having served his biological function he dies after a few hours.[2] The females die at the age of four days, when their own offspring eat them alive from the inside.
| Adactylidium | |
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| Genus: | Adactylidium Cross, 1965
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References
- ↑ Stephen Jay Gould. The Panda's Thumb (book) (1980)Norton. p. 69–75.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 Stephen Jay Gould, 'The Throwaway Male', New Scientist, Vol. 86, No. 1204 (Apr 24, 1980), p. 206
- ↑ T. B. Kirkwood & T. Cremer. Cytogerontology since 1881: a reappraisal of August Weismann and a review of modern progress. Human Genetics 60 (2) (1982). p. 101–121. doi:10.1007/BF00569695.