It's the season of love with Valentine's cards and gifts everywhere you go. So, here are some interesting facts about mating among insects:
-Courtship rituals among mating insects include serenades, dances, physical touch, chemical aphrodisiacs, and gifts.
-Male balloon flies present a female with a small, balloon shaped cocoon as a gift. Sounds sweet, right? The reason they do this is because the female will eat the male if given a chance, and unwrapping the gift keeps the female distracted long enough for the male to love her and leave.
-The male gypsy moth can smell the female from 1.8 miles away!
-The female praying mantis initiates mating by ripping the male's head off (ouch!).
-Male crickets chirp to attract a female mate.
-Mosquitoes sing duets with each other.
-A female firefly flickers her light in a specific way to let passing males know her species, her sex, and that she is interested in mating.
-Male mealworm beetles apply anti-aphrodisiac pheromones to the female after mating to make her less desirable to other males.
 |
| image from Lawrence Wee on free-stockphotos.com |
No comments:
Post a Comment