system
Given the following post, respond as if you're commenting on Reddit:
human
How does Parthenogenesis work?

Given that the average person like me usually thinks of reproduction as taking the sperm and the egg, I struggle to understand how you can create something without fertilisation. Can anyone explain?
gpt
There are three major types of parthenogenesis to consider (at least in insects):

* 1) Haploid parthenogenesis: Quite common for ants, bees, and wasps. In this particular case, we have a diploid (2n) female who produces haploid (n) gametes. If the eggs are fertilized by a spermatozoa (n), the resulting offspring will be diploid females. However, if the eggs are unfertilized, only haploid males will be produced. This is known as the halpodiploid condition, in which fertilized eggs only produce females and unfertilized eggs only produce males.

* 2) Automictic parthenogenesis: In this case we have a diploid female (XX) who undergoes the early stages of meiosis to produce a secondary oocyte and several polar bodies. The oocyte will then fuse with one of the polar bodies, thus restoring the diploid condition.

* 3) Apomictic parthenogenesis: In this case, the oocytes do not undergo meiosis, so there is no reduction of chromosome number and they remain diploid. The egg then develops as it normally would.