A photo from open sources
As a rule, same-sex sex occurs in insects by mistake – simply they cannot fully understand who is in front of them, a male or female until the mating act itself has occurred. From the side can it seems like insect sex is pretty simple: ritual dancing, squeezing in the abdomen and quick copulation on the fly. However experts are sure that this is far from the case. Researchers thoroughly studied homosexual behavior in mammals and birds, but know almost nothing about the love preferences of insects and spiders. To understand this issue, scientists spent more than a hundred studies on this topic and constituted the first comprehensive review manifestations of homosexuality in invertebrates. They found that most of these unions are an accident. As it turned out, insects use every opportunity for mating and quite often simply confused partners. And sometimes males provoke other males sex on an act of love with its fresh scent of a female after recent sexual intercourse. In addition, in insects, both females and males, as usually very similar in appearance, and the ability to figure out who is who appears only during the process itself. Extreme illegibility of insects in love often leads them to mate even with inanimate objects. For example, beetles often not indifferent to glass bottles. However other studies in an enviable increase in the number of intentional homosexual attacks. For example, males of butterflies, moths and wasps trying to commit an act of love with potential competitors to distract them from the females. Or to distribute your semen with the help of other males. In any case, scientists agree on one thing: with anatomy perspective male insects are not intended to same-sex sex, moreover, a sexual act with their own kind can cause severe bodily harm to insects. With another hand, the insect – the female is not against same-sex love and deserves a separate analysis of their motivations. As a rule, females use their similar sex games to attract more males and further full mating.
Translation by Sergey Vasilenkov
Insects
