In 2025, scientists uncovered a shocking twist in the world of ants. The queen of Messor ibericus, an Iberian harvester ant, does not just give birth to her own kind. Instead, her eggs produce two different species.

Here is how it works. When the queen mates with males of a related species (Messor structor), her worker ants turn out to be hybrids. But her male offspring are not hybrids at all. They are pure clones of the sperm donor, carrying none of the queen’s DNA.

Researchers call this new phenomenon xenoparity, meaning one species gives birth to another. Until now, no animal was known to do this. The discovery forces biologists to rethink how reproduction and species boundaries can work in nature.