# Parthenogenesis

> Reproduction without mating. Indoor aphids are all-female and give live birth to daughters that already carry developing embryos.

- Canonical: https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/parthenogenesis.html
- Also written: asexual reproduction, viviparous parthenogenesis, thelytoky, telescoping generations
- Glossary category: Pests and diseases · Evidence: Established
- Status: Draft: awaiting expert review · Updated: 2026-10-31
- Licence: CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), attribute "GenetixBay cannabis glossary"

Parthenogenesis is reproduction from unfertilised eggs or embryos. [Aphids](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/aphid.md) indoors are almost always females that give birth to live nymphs without males (viviparous parthenogenesis); UC [IPM](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/ipm.md) notes that most aphids reproduce this way for much of the year. Embryos inside a mother can already contain the next generation, the so-called telescoping of generations.

## In practice

Parthenogenesis is why aphids are among the fastest-multiplying cannabis pests: no males to feed, no eggs to hatch, and newborns that start reproducing within about a week in warm rooms. One aphid on a clone is a colony. Sexual forms and overwintering eggs appear only outdoors in autumn in species with a sexual stage.

## Don't confuse with

- **Arrhenotoky**: unmated females make only males ([mites](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/two-spotted-spider-mite.md), [thrips](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/thrips.md)).
- **Holocyclic life cycle**: includes a yearly sexual generation, usually outdoors.

## Related terms

[Arrhenotoky](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/arrhenotoky.md), [Aphid](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/aphid.md), [Intrinsic rate of increase (r_m)](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/glossary/intrinsic-rate-of-increase.md)

## Read more

- [Temperature, humidity and pest population growth in cannabis: every major pest compared](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/pests/temperature-humidity-and-pest-population-growth.md)
- [Aphids on cannabis: species, life tables, population growth and IPM](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/pests/aphids.md)
- [Cannabis aphid (Phorodon cannabis): ID, life table, overwintering and control](https://genetixbay.com/knowledge/pests/cannabis-aphid.md)

## Sources

1. UC IPM. Pest Notes: Aphids (Publication 7404). https://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7404.html