Love is in the air~

Valentine’s Day is here once again. It’s the time of the year when you’ll get to see more roses, teddy bears, nicely wrapped chocolates and everywhere seems themed with cupids and heart shapes. Men planning their words and acts for romantic dates while women are all doll up for it. All these effort in courting done to impress partners are surprisingly happening to not only us human beings, but to insects too!

Smell good to look good

Many insects are known to release some kind of ‘perfume’ to them, called pheromone. Male butterflies are known to release pheromone to signal their presence to a female they pursue. We humans may not know how they smell like, but perhaps to the female butterflies, they smell like one of those Hugo Boss perfume.

As for moths, the females release their ‘Chanel No.5’ and the male who caught the scent will pursue her. Sometimes it’s a race between males, since whoever found the lady first, he’ll win her. In some species, the males, with their specialized antennae are able to track them from as far as 2 kilometres. Girls, you might want to ask the moths for some perfume selection tips.

What you see is what you get

The sight is one important feature or channel for insects to find their mate. Male butterflies will flutter around and when he recognize the patterns the female of their kind, they will proceed to their next move.

source: anneofcarversville.com

Visual signals are important to fireflies in finding their mate. The males will be flying around, flashing the ‘light bulb’ on their abdomen. Each species displays different flash patterns or pulses. The females are known to be picky and would only respond to flashes that attract her most. Outer appearance matters to some beetles, particularly the females (sounds familiar?). Male beetles are usually the more striking looking ones compared to females because of this. And usually the females will choose the ones with most striking colours or bigger spots or brilliant pattern.

Songs and serenade

source: sunsetwestproductions.com

There’s a big reason why you hear crickets breaking silence with their chirps. They’re not just for sound effects, but that’s their bait for a mate. The male cricket chirps for attention and any captivated females would come approaching. While mosquitoes’ buzz maybe the most irritating sound to hear in bed but apparently its what they need to win a partner. In this interesting courtship, the male and female mosquitoes hum in different frequency, where male have higher one. Once they found each other, the females will increase her frequency, while the male lowers his. This frequency adjustment is made until at one point, they reach a perfect harmony.

Presents!

And you thought you’re the only one who enjoys getting presents?

source: accessscience.com

To win the ladies, a male hangingfly needs to get her the perfect gift. Not flower bouquets, or chocolates, but he will have to catch a prey (usually insects and spiders) and present it to her. If she likes the meal, she’ll mate with him and if she doesn’t she’ll refuse. Apparently, the bigger the meal is, the more attractive it is. So we humans are not the only creatures who enjoy a nice meal for a date.

So you think you can dance?

If you’re a person who thinks that a good dancer is a good charmer, then you’re not the only one. Many butterflies perform, what we call a ‘courtship dance’ before they copulate. The male butterflies would fleet near his target and start fluttering right above her in special patterns. If the female is interested, she will then join him in the dance. We’re not sure what are her criteria for a romantic dance, faster shuffling or graceful moves or robotic dance. Whatever it is, when she said ‘I do’, together, they will flutter around before finding a sheltered spot to mate.

So, got some ideas of how to impress your partners tonight? Hopefully these bugs have not only inspired some romantic performance for today, but also help us appreciate our wonderful nature as we learn from them. Have a lovely Valentine’s Day!

Posted in Insects, Mother Nature