WASHINGTON (AP) - For a long time, the debate has gone on: Does size matter to females? Biologists now say, definitively, that it does. Among fruit flies.
At issue is the fruit fly sperm, which is gargantuan in the tiny world of that speck-sized insect. The sperm is over 2 inches long, or about 23 times longer than its body.
This has been long known to scientists. And they’ve also known that the sperm fits into the bug because it’s coiled tightly, like a ball of yarn.
But why does such a little bug have such big sperm? A study released Wednesday by the journal Nature says that’s what the females want. Over time, the females have genetically evolved their bodies to get the biggest and best sperm possible for reproduction.
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