2008 Woodie Awards
Springtime Love, Part Deux: The Safari Continues
Mandy Frank
Issue date: 4/18/06 Section: Science
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Spring is still blooming, and there are more animals ready for love. Spring is the season in which many creatures engage in their mating rituals, from young to old, big to small.
From the bugs on our floors to the elephants in Africa, everyone wants a little bit of loving-making action. The sun is hot and so are the animal kingdom's libidos - even those of bedbugs!
Bedbugs, which are technically called Cimex lectularius, have a non-traditional way
of making baby bedbugs - the male actually has a spike on the front of his penis. The male uses his spike to pierce the female's back, and after he has literally made his mark on his lady bug, he ejaculates into this hole.
The sperm of the male bedbug swim around in the female's body, traveling through the female's blood, eventually reaching the ovaries. The fertilized eggs develop into embryos, which give rise to baby bedbugs.
On the other spectrum of bugs, beetle mites do quite the opposite of bedbugs. The male beetle mite deposits his sperm on the ground, and actually has sexual intercourse with a female.
If a female should pass by the sperm, she will pick up a few
of the male's spermatophores, and place them in her reproductive organ. If a male and female do happen to come into contact, they do not even acknowledge each other. Talk about impersonal!
Moving up in the animal kingdom, we come to one of my favorites, the beavers. When it comes time for the mating ritual, the female is the one to initiate sexual intercourse.
After the female beaver has found a suitable mate, she has an interesting way of showing it - she secretes a yellowish, oily substance called castoreum, which comes from a gland that is located between her anus and genitals. After the initial show of love, the beavers glide face to face in the water during their love-making. As long as the male shows his lover the proper respect, beaver couples tend to remain together for the rest of their lives.
From the bugs on our floors to the elephants in Africa, everyone wants a little bit of loving-making action. The sun is hot and so are the animal kingdom's libidos - even those of bedbugs!
Bedbugs, which are technically called Cimex lectularius, have a non-traditional way
of making baby bedbugs - the male actually has a spike on the front of his penis. The male uses his spike to pierce the female's back, and after he has literally made his mark on his lady bug, he ejaculates into this hole.
The sperm of the male bedbug swim around in the female's body, traveling through the female's blood, eventually reaching the ovaries. The fertilized eggs develop into embryos, which give rise to baby bedbugs.
On the other spectrum of bugs, beetle mites do quite the opposite of bedbugs. The male beetle mite deposits his sperm on the ground, and actually has sexual intercourse with a female.
If a female should pass by the sperm, she will pick up a few
of the male's spermatophores, and place them in her reproductive organ. If a male and female do happen to come into contact, they do not even acknowledge each other. Talk about impersonal!
Moving up in the animal kingdom, we come to one of my favorites, the beavers. When it comes time for the mating ritual, the female is the one to initiate sexual intercourse.
After the female beaver has found a suitable mate, she has an interesting way of showing it - she secretes a yellowish, oily substance called castoreum, which comes from a gland that is located between her anus and genitals. After the initial show of love, the beavers glide face to face in the water during their love-making. As long as the male shows his lover the proper respect, beaver couples tend to remain together for the rest of their lives.
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