Entangled: Unveiling the Secrets of Insect Mating – Issue #111

Hello Explorer,
A few weeks ago, I witnessed a remarkable sight in nature – a swirling mass of insects engaged in a fascinating dance. This behavior is a prime example of a life history trait.
Life history traits refer to any characteristic that an organism has that affects its survival and reproduction. It includes but are not limited to life span, number of offspring (or eggs laid), amount of parental care, and any mating rituals or behaviour. Thus, the mating dance scorpions do is seen as a life history trait, as is the flying dance of dragonflies that are in the process of mating and laying eggs. Some life history traits have a greater influence on survival than others, and some can even be influenced by local environmental influences such as temperature and food types that are available.
Have you ever seen a dense cloud of insects hovering in one spot? This fascinating behaviour can be a mating lek, and it is one of the life history traits that I have learned about for as long as I can remember. An insect mating lek is when males gather in a specific area, often in their hundreds or even thousands! Females will visit these mating leks to choose a suitable mate, or mates to mate with (some insects are monogamous, meaning the female will mate with only one male). After mating, the female goes on her way to lay eggs (like fruit flies) or start a colony (like ants).
A few weeks ago as I was sitting outside, I saw a large swarm (more than a few thousand) of what seemed to be gnats or midges. As I sat watching this swarm, I saw slightly larger insect fly into the middle of the swarm, suddenly falling to the ground, and then take off and fly away after a minute or two. Being amazed at what was going on, I caught one of the larger insects that was flying away, and low and behold, it turned out to be alate (winged) Queen ants!

The species (Meranoplus sp.) was busy having a nuptial flight, and they find mates to mate with through an arial mating lek! The mating lek continued for over an hour and a half, and the number of females visiting stayed consistent throughout the time that I was watching them, and yes, I did collect a few of the queens that mated and flew away.
It was difficult to tell from my vantage point if the queen made a choice to selected a certain male to mate with, or whether the first male to “catch” the queen in the air was the one that had the privilege of mating with her. What I did see was that the queen and male that caught her in mid air plummeted to the ground, where they would mate. Sometimes the queen would be impatient and start flying away while still mating with the male.
Several queens even landed with two or three males clinging on, but from what I

saw, they only mated with a single male before escaping the others. This suggests that this Meranoplus species might be monogamous. While I couldn't determine if the males returned to the lek afterwards, it seems unlikely.
Have you ever witnessed a rare life history trait like this before? What was it? Can you recall the details thereof? Is there a specific life history trait you would like to witness in nature? Maybe lions hunting, or giraffes fighting?

If you would like to send me a message with your answers, feel free to do so on Instagram or Twitter @abugmanslife or via email to [email protected].

Meet the Bugman!

Hi there, I'm Ludwig. As a passionate entomologist, I'm fascinated by the incredible world of insects! Did you know a termite queen can live for up to 50 years? Through this newsletter, I hope to share my experiences and ignite your curiosity about the vital role these tiny creatures play in our ecosystems. Let's Explore, Discover, and Share the wonders of the insect world together!  Next time you're outside, see if you can spot some fascinating ants or praying mantids – you might be surprised by what you discover!