Bat Bugs Have Fake Genitals

National Geographic has an article about a "hotbed of deception" in the natural world. It involves the genitals of a small, reddish-brown parasite called the bat bug. In order to protect themselves from the unwanted advances of male members of the species, female bat bugs have evolved a region on their body similar to a fake genital:
Researchers have long known that male bat bugs ignore females' conventional parts and instead use their sharp penises to stab the females' abdomens, injecting sperm directly into the bloodstream. So the females evolved a defense: structures called paragenitals that guide a male's needle-like member into a spongy reservoir of immune cells.
It turns out that male bat bugs sport a similar fake genital area, because males often perform "the same injurious sexual acts on other males." All in all, the sex life of the bat bug sounds like a rather unpleasant affair.

Science Sex/Romance

Posted on Thu Sep 27, 2007



Comments

An insect expert can probably expand on this but another species of bug notonly injects sperm directly through the female's skin into her body, but in drought conditions, males will "mate" with other males, injecting water and protein into their systems.

Of course, they don't have this bug in Iran.
Posted by Mark  on  Thu Sep 27, 2007  at  01:05 PM
Wow... Today is my birthday and this made my day... Not to mention, the word I had to type in to prove I am human was "came". How ironic.
Posted by Jackie  on  Thu Sep 27, 2007  at  03:21 PM
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