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Quiz about Mating Tactics of Creepy Crawlies

Mating Tactics of Creepy Crawlies Quiz

It's all about making sure that your genes are the ones passed on to the next generation. How would you go about wooing the ladies if you lived life in the underbrush?

A multiple-choice quiz by jondalah. Estimated time: 6 mins.

Author
jondalah

Time
6 mins

Type
Multiple Choice

Quiz #
284,931

Updated
Dec 03 21

# Qns
10

Difficulty
Tough

Avg Score
5 / 10

Plays
1011

Awards
Top 35% Quiz

One at a Time - Single Page - Timed Game

Question 1 of 10

1. Love isn't always easy. Female water striders have developed spikes on their backs to dislodge males attempting to mate with them. If you were a male water strider, what would you have to overcome this? Hint

Claspers to hold onto the female

Good aim

The ability to mate within 0.25 seconds

A hole in your chest to accommodate the spike

NEXT>

Question 2 of 10

2. In many species males who mate with a female will block her genital opening with a hard plug, therefore preventing her from mating with another male. If you were a bed bug this would not be a problem. How does the male bed bug ensure he passes on his genes? Hint

Stabbing the female's body and injecting sperm

Special pinchers to remove the plug

Secreting enzymes to dissolve the plug

Mating before the plug is set

NEXT>

Question 3 of 10

3. It can be tiring chasing the girls around, sometimes you just want them to come to you. The red velvet mite male releases his sperm onto twigs. He then needs to entice a female to lay her eggs. If you were a red velvet mite how would you tempt a female to do this? Hint

Dance

Lay a silk trail for her to follow

Sing

Place pungent food at the end of the twig

NEXT>

Question 4 of 10

4. Incest is not unheard of in the insect world. If you were a straw itch mite male, who would you mate with? Hint

Yourself

Your mother

Your sister

Your father

NEXT>

Question 5 of 10

5. Females can be fussy when it comes to choosing who to share their genes with. The female of many insects have a storage organ to keep sperm to be used as needed. If you were a male Drosophila bifurca (a species of fruit fly) you would want to take up as much of this space as possible. How would you accomplish this? Hint

By producing a vast number of sperm

By producing extra long sperm

By mating for days at a time

By secreting fluid to fill the space

NEXT>

Question 6 of 10

6. There is no doubt about it, passing on your genes can be a risky business. If you were a male red back spider what particular hazard would make you think twice before approaching a female? Hint

She might poison you

You will not be able to produce sperm again for 6 months

She may be a male posing as a female

She might eat you

NEXT>

Question 7 of 10

7. Females like to be courted, and providing your chosen lady with a meal could give you an advantage. The female sagebrush cricket has unusual cravings. If you were a male sagebrush cricket which of these attributes would give you the best chance of meeting her desires? Hint

Being older

Being larger

Being a virgin

Being smaller

NEXT>

Question 8 of 10

8. In the insect world, females are not always just looking for a good personality. If you were a male stalk-eyed fly, what attribute would attract the largest number of females to you? Hint

Being able to perform intricate dances

Being able to sing the loudest

Having eyes set further apart than your body is long

Being the largest male

NEXT>

Question 9 of 10

9. Once you have found that special partner, you can't always trust her to stay true. If you were a male dragonfly, how would you protect your partner from other males? Hint

Kill any other males that come near her

Seal her in a tree until she deposits her eggs

Mate frequently

Hold onto her until she deposits her eggs

NEXT>

Question 10 of 10

10. Sometimes fidelity wins. If you were a male burying beetle, what would keep your partner true to you? Hint

You will both raise your children together

You will fuse your bodies together

She will die shortly after mating

She will be reliant on you for food until she lays her eggs

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Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts

Answer: Claspers to hold onto the female

Different species of water strider females have different sized spikes, basically the larger the male's "claspers", the larger the female's spikes.

Answer: Stabbing the female's body and injecting sperm

Being stabbed by the male does not endanger the female's life, she has adapted so the sperm will work its way through her body to be stored and then used to fertilise her eggs. In some species, the male will actually inject other males who then pass on their genes for them.

Answer: Lay a silk trail for her to follow

This is easier said than done, a poorly made trail will not attract any mates as the female will only leave her eggs for a male that she finds artistically pleasing. Also, if another male finds this trail, he will destroy the original's sperm and leave his own.

4. Incest is not unheard of in the insect world. If you were a straw itch mite male, who would you mate with?

Answer: Your sister

The straw itch mite gives birth to up to 300 young at a time, and the males will immediately mate with their sisters after birth. When your life span is only 1 week, there is little time to waste with courting!

Answer: By producing extra long sperm

Male fruit flies produce the longest sperm known to man, being up to 6cm in length, this is over 1000 times longer than a human sperm. In order to accomplish this, his testes make up 11% of his body mass.

6. There is no doubt about it, passing on your genes can be a risky business. If you were a male red back spider what particular hazard would make you think twice before approaching a female?

Answer: She might eat you

Male red back spiders actually offer themselves up to the female to eat them. In about 65% of red back spider matings the male is consumed by the female. Males that are not eaten die shortly afterwards anyway, so this is not much of a deterrent.

Answer: Being a virgin

Male sagebrush crickets have evolved an extra pair of wings for females to "nibble" on whilst mating. The females then proceed to drink the blood from these wounds. This does not kill the males, but they do lose a portion of their wings with each mating, making them less attractive to other females.

8. In the insect world, females are not always just looking for a good personality. If you were a male stalk-eyed fly, what attribute would attract the largest number of females to you?

Answer: Having eyes set further apart than your body is long

There really is no accounting for taste. The males have much longer eye-stalks than the females, and this is thought to have evolved due to female mating preference.

9. Once you have found that special partner, you can't always trust her to stay true. If you were a male dragonfly, how would you protect your partner from other males?

Answer: Hold onto her until she deposits her eggs

The last male dragonfly to mate with a female before she lays her eggs has the greatest chance of fathering her offspring. Male dragonflies attempt to hold onto a female behind the back of her head until she has laid her eggs, and will then fly off to find another partner.

10. Sometimes fidelity wins. If you were a male burying beetle, what would keep your partner true to you?

Answer: You will both raise your children together

A rare thing in the world of bugs, young burying beetles are not able to care for themselves from birth and take several days to mature. If the female does die, the male will take on all the child-rearing duties.

Source: Author jondalah

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor crisw before going online.
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