Insects reproduce fantastically fast in five months, the offspring of one housefly could reach 7.6 billion
Insects reproduce fantastically fast in five months, the offspring of one housefly could reach 7.6 billion, but this is not happening. Explain why
Potential offspring is determined by the number of eggs laid. Not all eggs will hatch new insects in the future:
1) The vast majority of eggs will simply die before life begins to develop in them.
2) Some of the larvae will also die for various reasons.
As a result, the actual offspring of this fly will be several orders of magnitude smaller.
This is a regularity: animals that have no or poorly developed care for their offspring, as well as those with a complex life cycle (for example, parasites), lay a lot of eggs in order to increase the likelihood of their survival. Conversely, the more developed care for the offspring, the less it is.