Biologists from the University of Vienna in Austria have discovered an unusual behavior in male spider mites during the mating season – males follow immature females and help them remove their shells during their final molt to become their first sexual partner. The results of the research have been published magazine iScience.
The pursuit of females, who will soon reach puberty, is characteristic of many animals. In the first insects studied by the authors, the sexual partner is crucial because it is her sperm (males emerge from unfertilized eggs) that will fertilize all clutches from which new females will hatch. For this reason, many males follow the female with a molt for several hours before entering maturity and protect it from other males. They describe it by its color – an hour or two before molting, its body becomes silvery due to the accumulation of air between the old and new shells.
Moreover, scientists have found that males, in addition to persecution, tear off the shell from females, first pulling it out from the back of the body, where the genital opening is located. Thus, the male helps the female become a sexually mature individual faster and mate with him.
It was known how people were before. to choose sexual partners