'Sex On Six Legs': When Insects Go Wild

Everything you wanted to know about bug sex (but didn't bother to ask) is explained in a new book by insect expert Marlene Zuk. Sex on Six Legs: Lessons on Life, Love and Language from the Insect World, describes a world of small — but surprisingly sophisticated — insect behavior.

Insects are not mindless robots; they can learn just like other animals, says Zuk, a biologist at University of California, Riverside. "An ant who finds a food source will come back to recruit others to go to the same food source," she tells Fresh Air's Dave Davies. The ant that knows where to go will show the others what to do. "It looks like a parent teaching a child how to ride a bicycle. ... They steer the other individual and will actually wait for them to catch up and make sure they're going in the right direction."

The book answers all sorts of questions about insect behavior, including how wasps recognize each other, why some crickets remain silent and how bees debate. The book also details how insects reproduce — in every imaginable way.

Source: http://www.npr.org/2011/08/15/139554957/sex-on-six-legs-when-insects-go-wild?ft=1&f=1007

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