1. Slimy SweetheartsHermaphroditic leopard slugs dangle from strings of mucus, extend their slimy, b
1. Slimy SweetheartsHermaphroditic leopard slugs dangle from strings of mucus, extend their slimy, blue penises from their foreheads, and twist them together in the moonlight to fertilize each other’s eggs. (Image Credit: Unireality/BBC Earth)2. Hers and HissRed-sided garter snakes are some of the world’s snuggliest beings. Each spring, thousands upon thousands of garter snakes emerge from underground caves and crevices in Manitoba to look for a mate. Females are engulfed by a wriggling mass of amorous males.(Image Credit: National Geographic)3. A Small Token Of His AffectionPacks of honeybees swarm their queen in mid-air. When a lucky suitor finds his mark, he instantly ejaculates, literally causing his tiny bee gonads to explode. The queen buzzes away from her (now deceased) mate, carrying a parting gift – the dead male’s penis. It stays inside her, barring other would-be fathers. (Image Credit: The Guardian/Eureka Entertainment)4. From The Bottom Of My … BottomTo communicate he’s looking for love, a male hippo urinates and defecates at the same time while aggressively whipping his tail around to spread the scent. A reciprocating female will even respond with some poo wafting of her own.(Image Credit: Earth Touch)5. Birds of ParamourMother Nature isn’t all excrement sprinklers and exploding gonads – birds of paradise impress their mates with the power of dance. The male parotia expands his plumage into a tutu-like arrangement of feathers and performs, hoping the chicks will dig it. (Image Credit: BBC Earth) 6. No partner? No problem. The aphid is living proof. Female aphids can have babies without the help of a male, just by cloning their genes and giving birth to exact miniature copies of themselves. (Image Credit: BBC Worldwide)Text by Jessica Boddy, GIFs by Ryan Eskalis -- source link
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