[ **up: [[Reproduction and sex]]** ] --- # Parthenogenesis > \[…] a natural form of asexual reproduction in which the embryo develops directly from an egg without need for fertilization.[^1] --- ## Evolution [[A mutant allele capable of allowing virgin females to reproduce parthenogenetically will easily spread through obligately sexual populations “via the advantage of occasional reproduction before mating”.|A mutant allele capable of allowing virgin females to reproduce parthenogenetically will easily spread through obligately sexual populations “via the advantage of occasional reproduction before mating”.]][^2] (This only works in the absence of male coercion.[^3]) [^1]: ‘Parthenogenesis’, *Wikipedia*, updated 19 March 2025, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthenogenesis. [^2]: N. Burke and R. Bonduriansky, ‘[[Burke & Bonduriansky. ‘Male Coercion, Female Resistance and the Evolutionary Trap of Sexual Reproduction’, 2017.|Male Coercion, Female Resistance and the Evolutionary Trap of Sexual Reproduction]]’,  *bioRxiv* (5 June 2017), abstract. [^3]: N. Burke and R. Bonduriansky, ‘[[Burke & Bonduriansky. ‘Male Coercion, Female Resistance and the Evolutionary Trap of Sexual Reproduction’, 2017.|Male Coercion, Female Resistance and the Evolutionary Trap of Sexual Reproduction]]’,  *bioRxiv* (5 June 2017), abstract.