Gay bug

Certain beetles have even been found to use same-sex mounting as a way to spread sperm to other males that may then pass it along to the next female he mounts, though this mechanism does not appear to be very effective.

Since male insect anatomy is not designed to accept male genitals, improper penetration can cause bodily damage in aggressively competing mates.

They also begin to mimic the mating signals of females by flicking their wings in a way typically used to attract males. This anatomy blocker is not a problem for all species, since not all insect sex involves penetration. In a recent paper published in the scientific journal Behavioral Ecology and Sociobiology, biologists Inon Scharf of Tel Aviv University and Oliver Martin of ETH Zurich tackle the “evolutionary paradox” of SSS behavior, noting that while its “costs seem obvious, positive contributions to fitness remain unclear.”

After analyzing studies that document the sex life of 110 different species of insects and arachnids, the researchers say they can find no proof that bugs practice intentional “gay” behavior.

It could also improve heterosexual performance by keeping the ejaculate primed with fresh, younger sperm, or help males practise courtship to improve sexual performance. In other cases, males and females look so similar to one another that males cannot tell if a potential mate is a female until he mounts "her" and prepares for the act, Scharf said.

Sometimes, such extreme indiscrimination leads to mating with inanimate objects, as has been observed in beetles trying to mount glass bottles.

The glass bottle "looks like a huge female to them," Scharf said.

Rather it is the result of a simple calculation: “The cost of rejecting a valid opportunity to mate with a female is greater than that of mistakenly mating with a male.”

I spoke to Inon Scharf over email about bug libido, comparative zoology, and how much it sucks to be a mistaken object of affection.

VICE: Why wouldn’t insects have evolved a better sense for telling the sexes apart?

By framing the scientific discussion around chemicals affecting frog sexuality in such charged terms, the narrative fed into harmful stereotypes about the LGBTQ+ community.

This suggests the competitive males were more efficient at recognising females. Laura has a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz, and a Bachelor of Science degree in geology from Bates College in Lewiston, Maine.

Using terms that define emotional human identity such as “gay” and “trans” to describe the physical sex and sexual physiology and behavior of an animal can be misleading and harmful to members of the queer community when it reinforces negative stereotypes. However, animals are not perfect, and there are many types of trade-off in nature.

Sex is costly for insects. And frankly, if any of us had to wait 17 years to make an appearance, we’d probably want our story told right, too.

Why Insects Have Gay Sex

Insect sex may seem fairly simple: fluttering dances, clasping abdomens, a quick mount on a forest floor. These insects spend most of their lives underground as nymphs, emerging as adults in unison after a set number of years.

As the evidence mounts that same-sex sexytime is a common occurrence in the animal kingdom, scientists have come up with a variety of explanations for why going “gay” might be an evolutionarily advantageous trait, despite the fact that doing so cannot result in baby making. Using these terms to describe non-human behavior for the sake of impressions trivializes serious and personal aspects of human identity.

If it gave insects an evolutionary advantage then we’d expect it to become more common in this situation.

Instead, our research adds to the weight of evidence suggesting insect homosexuality is the result of poor mate-spotting abilities, although we still don’t know exactly why this occurs. But those from the male-biased group were more likely to mate the female first, mate her more frequently and spend a greater amount of time mating her.

But on the other hand, one important goal of science is to reach a better understanding of life, and this could be done by comparing studies and species, and looking for the common things (while also considering the uniqueness of each system).