Festival for drinking water

Although brutally beaten by males during mating, the female beetle-eating females are still excited and constantly come back many times to "demand".

Two beetles are celebrating.Photo: National Geographic.

That strange phenomenon stunned the insect experts. But a recent study found that the beetle that feeds on bean weevil mates incomplete for reproductive purposes.

'We are very curious about the behavior of the beetle. Males cause injury to them during mating, but they still require males to do it many times. So we wanted to find out if the female beetle could get something to eat or drink from the semen that the male secreted , 'said Claudia Ursprung, a scientist at the University of Toronto Mississauga (Canada). expression.

Claudia and colleagues locked 79 bugs in 8 days. Some are provided with food and water, others have only food or water.

Provided with food but without water, mating desire of female beetles appears quite quickly. But when they drink water, they appear indifferent to the males. Claudio confirmed that females like to have sex many times because the males provide water for them.

Scientists believe that pea-eating beetles choose this unique strategy because they live in a dry environment.

'Behavior is like a gift that males give their children to be mated. It is also a way to ensure that children will give birth to healthy children, ' said entomologist Darryl Gwynne, a member of the research team.

Karim Vahed, an insect research specialist at the University of Derby (UK), explained in another direction. He said that the act of satisfying thirst with male semen comes from the fact that females will keep less sperm when their bodies are dehydrated.

'So they mate many times to store more sperm, not water,' he explained.