EXPLORING NATURE: PITY THE POOR MALE

Male Sometimes in nature, the male species gets the short end of the stick.

For example, consider the mating of praying mantises. During copulation, or shortly after, the female will often bite off the head of the male. And it sometimes takes a second or two for the male to realize he is dead — he keeps on pumping away.

The female will often eat all of the male; he is a rich source of protein.

Similarly, male mayflies live for only one day, just time to mate with the females. But the females extend their lives and fly around laying eggs and guaranteeing their lineage continues.

Female tarantulas can live for around 30 years, breeding for 20 years and producing about 4,000 total offspring. Not so the male. He reaches sexual maturity at 5 to 10 years of age, but once he mates, his life is short.

Sometimes the female kills the male tarantula during mating, somewhat like the female mantis. At any rate, the male tarantula generally dies within months of mating.

While tarantulas aren’t cuddly and cute, they do provide a useful service in the scheme of things. Along with their spider relatives, they serve as food for birds and small mammals and they also eat tiny but pesky insects to keep their numbers in check.

By the way, the town of La Junta, Colo., appreciates tarantulas and holds an annual Tarantula Festival. They have a parade and conduct educational programs. And a local restaurant features a tarantula taco salad, with olives festooned into tarantulas’ likenesses.

Shed a tear for the male in nature; he is not nearly as valued as the female. And bear in mind that female humans typically have a longer lifespan than males.

Thank goodness the female human does not lop off the male’s head after mating. I have a feeling that would curb copulation considerably.