3113
Hello Summer!
- Joined
- Nov 1, 2005
- Posts
- 13,823
Methinks I smell a plot bunny...From here:
Ain't science interesting?
Scientists analyzed four species of insects from extremely dry caves in Brazil...During copulation, which lasts a whopping 40 to 70 hours, the females insert their gynosomes into the male organs. The intricate female organs collect sperm capsules from the males.
Once inside a male, the membranous part of the female gynosome inflates, and numerous spines on the organ anchor the two insects together. Females can hold males very tightly — in one instance, when the scientists attempted to pull a pair apart, the male's abdomen was ripped from the rest of his body without breaking the genital coupling.
...The researchers suspect this strange reversal of sex roles evolved because of the generous amounts of nutritious semen that males include within their sperm capsules as nuptial gifts for their mates. The caves in which these insects live are poor in resources, making it advantageous for females to mate more often.
Ain't science interesting?
