Insects’ Overactive Sex Drive Leads to Accidental Encounters
- 10 years ago
Israeli and Swiss researchers say mistaken identity may be the main reason up to 85 percent of male insects and spiders have sexual encounters with other males and the occasional inanimate object.
The entertainment industry loves jokes where a guy takes a girl home only to discover that she’s a he. This type of mistake resulting from wanting to mate quickly is what Israeli and Swiss researchers say may be the main reason up to 85 percent of male insects and spiders have homosexual encounters.
The recent study analyzed about 110 species. About 80 percent of the homosexual encounters seemed due to confusion. Males give off pheromones from prior sex with females, mistakenly attracting a male to a male. Also, males and females just look similar. They may not even discover their mistake until after they’ve started.
While evolutionary scientists claim homosexual behavior in some birds and mammals has benefits such as practicing for heterosexual relations or diverting the competition’s attention, no such benefit exists when it comes to insects.
In fact, the risks of wasting time, contracting a disease, or suffering injury or death are great, especially considering there’s zero chance of procreation.
According to researchers, the overzealous males simply take their chances because losing out on sex with a female poses a greater risk. So much so they’ll even mate with an occasional inanimate object like a beer bottle.
The entertainment industry loves jokes where a guy takes a girl home only to discover that she’s a he. This type of mistake resulting from wanting to mate quickly is what Israeli and Swiss researchers say may be the main reason up to 85 percent of male insects and spiders have homosexual encounters.
The recent study analyzed about 110 species. About 80 percent of the homosexual encounters seemed due to confusion. Males give off pheromones from prior sex with females, mistakenly attracting a male to a male. Also, males and females just look similar. They may not even discover their mistake until after they’ve started.
While evolutionary scientists claim homosexual behavior in some birds and mammals has benefits such as practicing for heterosexual relations or diverting the competition’s attention, no such benefit exists when it comes to insects.
In fact, the risks of wasting time, contracting a disease, or suffering injury or death are great, especially considering there’s zero chance of procreation.
According to researchers, the overzealous males simply take their chances because losing out on sex with a female poses a greater risk. So much so they’ll even mate with an occasional inanimate object like a beer bottle.