A dramatic re-enactment of the strange sex life of bed bugs:
Alex Wild on insects, science, and photography
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A personal weblog by Illinois-based biologist and photographer Alex Wild.
Myrmecos- derived from the ancient greek word for "ant"- hosts Alex's musings about these and other little creatures that share our planet.
Questions? Comments? Email alwild [at] myrmecos.net
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Blog: Myrmecos Topics:Insects, Photography, Science
Interesting! Unique presentation. I have heard that bedbugs reproduce in such a manner but I wonder, how do they lay eggs if they have no genital opening? Is it through the waste tract?
Interesting mix of the comic and the rather appalling.
I’ve heard that in lab conditions (confined, I suppose), female bedbugs can be mated so much they actually die.
I think they do have all the proper genital structures, yet for some reason the males get more of a kick out of impregnating females this way, plus it insures that their sperm is the only one swimming around. Interesting approach…
And even more surprising, the males use their “sword” to penetrate other males, so when these are copulating with females, the alien sperm will be injected in place of their’s in the female, describing this behavior maybe as the more intelligent sexual intercourse existing in the animal world!
That’s brilliant! Why was it made? It seems too OTT for a PSA.
Evidently, it was made because Rossellini had the opportunity to make some nature-related short films for the Sundance Channel, and thought it would be fun to focus on the animals that are commonly encountered every day, including their “incredible variety of mating, which is very scandalous”.
I hadn’t known until now that she’s Ingrid Bergman’s daughter.