Female broad-horned flour beetles are able to influence the gender of their offspring, with “high-quality females” – those who produce more offspring – more likely to have daughters.
Female beetles manipulate the sex of their offspring to compensate for the fact that some genes which make a “high-quality male” – such as large jaws for winning fights – might make a bad female – a more masculine body shape, needed to support powerful jaws, is less adept at carrying eggs.
The researchers believe the findings could apply to other species across the animal kingdom, but it’s not yet known whether the findings are relevant to humans.
Read more at University of Exeter