• Question: how are babbies made

    Asked by Salim to Jonathan, Kellie, Kevin, Melissa on 4 May 2016.
    • Photo: Melissa Wilson Sayres

      Melissa Wilson Sayres answered on 4 May 2016:


      Babbies?!? I don’t even know what a babbie is.

      Hmmm… if you mean, babies, then you’ll have to be a little more specific about the species. In haplo-diploid species (like ants, wasps, and honeybees), if the queen lays an egg and it is *not* merged with a sperm, it will develop into a male (sperm-maker), but if the queen lays an egg and it *is* merged with a sperm, it will develop into a female (egg-maker).

      Awesome. Possum.

    • Photo: Jonathan Jackson

      Jonathan Jackson answered on 4 May 2016:


      I love learning new things from my fellow scientists. Thanks, Melissa!

    • Photo: Kevin Baker

      Kevin Baker answered on 5 May 2016:


      This question reminds me of a Yahoo answer many years ago.

      But Melissa is right, it all depends on the species! Bacteria do not have sperm or eggs, they grow by dividing themselves. The “mother” cell creates a “daughter” cell.

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