10 Ridiculously Weird Animal Mating Rituals

Whether it be the ridiculous macho posturing some males do to attract a mate or the bizarre positions and sexual acts couples engage in, when you think about it mating is really strange. And that’s just humans.

Although if you think we’re weird, you should look to the animal kingdom. There are some creatures out there who take repopulating their species to whole new levels of freaky with their mating behaviour. Perhaps the most well-known example of these extreme mating behaviours is the fact that if a male praying mantis decides to further his line, it will come at a serious price , as the female takes the term “man-eater” a bit too literally.

But what about the less well known examples? Whether it's animals that are (quite literally) dying to have sex or those with some of the least sexy methods of seduction you’ll ever hear, this article plans to take a look at some of the other Casanovas of the animal world and the strange things they do to make babies.

You often hear of parents telling their children about “The birds and the bees” as a child-friendly method of explaining sex, but if they actually knew how honey bees reproduce they might realise that they perhaps aren’t the best animal for this metaphor.

Essentially what happens when honey bees mate is that when a queen honey bee reaches sexual maturity, or rather “if” a queen bee reaches sexual maturity (given that virgin queen rivals tend to seek each other out and try to kill each other) her reward is an orgy with a dozen or so male drones.

Unfortunately for the “lucky” males involved in this mating ritual this is the last act they will participate in during their time on Earth.

Whenever a male drone ejaculates into the queen his testicles quite literally explode, propelling both his semen and his (now broken off) penis into the queen’s vagina. This act paralyses the male, leaving him to die. And all this is for the sake of a sexual encounter that lasts only 1-2 seconds. Who says males aren’t crazy about sex?

Super fun bonus science fact – Many people think that the reason the male shoots his penis inside the queen is to prevent other males from mating with her, thus improving his own chances of impregnating her. 

This does not appear to be the case however, as other males are still more than capable of mating with the queen after this occurs. Although it does help prevent semen from flowing out of the vagina, so it may yet increase the male’s chances of passing on his genes.