Evolution and Diversity of Sex Ratio in Insects and Mites

Based on entomological research, this study describes how biased sex ratios are characteristic of haplodiploid species, and that these species are characteristically colonizing species with genetics suited both to spatially and temporally unpredictable environments.
Sex ratio, the proportion of a progeny that is female, is an extremely important fitness trait. It is particularly interesting in relation to haplodiploidy, a variety of parthenogenesis in which organisms reproduce without the benefit of fertilization. This study arrives at conclusions drawn from new empirical studies: that biased sex ratios are characteristic of haplodiploid species; that these species are characteristically colonizing species with genetics suited both to spatially and temporally unpredictable environments; that manipulation of haplodiploid biological control agents, or pests that are to be controlled, depends on understanding the determinants of sex ratio; and that because evolutionary theory predicts that haplodiploids have the capacity to evolve faster than diploid organisms, haplodiploid species are the organisms of choice in biological control strategies.