Inherited sterility in insects

Insects are tiny creatures like ants, bees, butterflies, and mosquitoes that can lay eggs and make more insects that look like them. But sometimes, scientists want to stop them from doing that because too many insects can be bad for our crops and health.

One way to stop insects from having babies is by using something called inherited sterility. Sterility means that the insect can't have babies, and inherited means that the insect got it from its parents.

To make an insect sterile, scientists use something called radiation. Just like how the sun can give us a tan or burn our skin, radiation can affect an insect's ability to have babies. But too much radiation can be bad for the insect or any living thing, so scientists use a special kind of radiation that is safe for the insect.

When an insect gets radiated, it can't have babies anymore because its eggs or sperm don't work the way they should. But the insect still looks and acts the same, and it can even mate with other insects. However, when a sterile insect mates with a regular insect, the regular insect's eggs won't hatch because the sperm from the sterile insect doesn't work.

This is where the inherited part comes in. If a sterile insect mates with another sterile insect, their babies will also be sterile. This means that the insect population will decrease because there are fewer insects that can have babies.

So, inherited sterility in insects is a way for scientists to stop insects from having babies by using a safe kind of radiation to make them sterile. When a sterile insect mates with another sterile insect, their babies won't be able to have babies either, so the insect population decreases over time.