Many insects and arachnids engage in same - sex intimate behaviors . But they ’re not gay , say a pair of researcher from Israel and Switzerland . It ’s just a case of misguided identity — and mellow sex drives .
hemipteran often rent in what appear to be homosexual conduct , like courting and pairing effort with members of the same sex . Unlike craniate , however , this ca n’t be easily explicate . Same - sex intimate behaviors in dame and mammalian are often understood as “ practice ” for young grownup and as a manner to maintain chemical group alliances .
This does n’t apply to bugs , however . For them , these efforts are implausibly risky and pointless ; not only is it dangerous , it consume meter and energy — and for no unmistakable evolutionary or procreative vantage . Indeed , bugs typically checkmate in a “ speedy and sordid ” mode , enjoin Tel Aviv University ’s Inon Scharf , a cobalt - author of the new study . “ The cost of taking the time to describe the gender of mate or the cost of hesitancy seems to be groovy than the price of making some mistakes . ”
Sharf , along with Oliver Martin of ETH Zurich , latterly look at the male of over 110 mintage of bugs and insects to see if they could happen some sensical reasons for same - sex behavior . They take care at males because same - sexual urge behavior among louse and arachnids is almost exclusive to them .
But they found nothing .
Instead , the researchers intimate these creatures but have n’t evolve the mental ability to be more discriminating in their pairing alternative . They point to other examples of felt up “ confusion ” among insectoid males , like attempts to procreate with inanimate objects such as beer bottle . Or males laces with female pheromones . Many mintage also attempt to mate with related species — another case of mistaken identification .
“ [ Same - sex sexual ] behaviour in arthropods is predominantly base on mistaken identification and is in all probability maintained because the monetary value of eliminate a valid opportunity to twin with a female is greater than that of erroneously pair with a male , ” exit the researches in the study .
“ Homosexual behavior may be genomically linked to being more participating , a safe forager , or a well competitor , ” they note . “ So even though misidentifying mates is n’t a desirable trait , it ’s part of a package of traits that leave the louse better adapt overall . ”
record the entire discipline at Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology : “ Same - sex sexual behavior in insects and arachnids : prevalence , campaign , and consequences . ”
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