There is no sexual activity because bad weather arrives

2013/10/11 Rementeria Argote, Nagore - Elhuyar Zientziaren Komunikazioa Iturria: Elhuyar aldizkaria

• Ekologia
• Biologia

The behavior of animals has traditionally been used to predict time, but without scientific arguments. In a study conducted jointly by the entomologists of Sao Paulo and the University of Western Ontario, it is observed that the sexual behavior of insects of the three species is influenced by the “meteorological prediction”, and that when there are changes in atmospheric pressure, they have fewer sexual relations and faster, as they have published in the journal Plos One.

The research was carried out with species far from taxonomy: The Diabrotica speciosa beetle, the nocturnal butterfly Pseudaletia unipuncta and the vegetable cover Macrosipartum euphorbiae. In all of them, a change in behavior has been observed: if atmospheric pressure drops sharply or increases, females make shorter calls and males move less. Therefore, less coverings are produced and the front brace is shorter than when the pressure is stable. There are differences between species and others; according to researchers, the reason is their different size and their ability to fly.

This change of behavior protects the insect, since changes in atmospheric pressure are signs of great storms or winds, serious dangers in the world of small insects. Another thing is how these insects are able to detect this pressure change. The researchers suspect that for this purpose they use cuticle hairs.