Male wasps just as dumb as male turkeys

We all know that male turkeys aren't terribly picky about what they'll mate with. Give'em a plastic female turkey head on a stick and they'll hit it like a Viking. Well it looks like male wasps are equally non-choosy. They'll apparently quit mating with a hot female wasp in favor of mating with an ultra-hot Orchid.

It is not harmless to the wasps, who may suffer more than an inconvenience. "Male pollinators can prefer orchids to real females, prematurely end a copulation with a real female to visit an orchid, or be unable to find real female mates among false orchid signals," the researchers wrote.

"Unquestionably, producing sperm, ejaculate, or seminal fluids is costly for many animals. The energetic demands of sperm production can result in reduced body mass, a shortened life span, or limited lifetime sperm production," they added.

posted by Purp at 08:09 AM

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