Variety is the spice of humble moth’s sex life

The twilight courtship rituals of the gold swift moth (Phymatopus hecta) can be seen in June and July in forest glades and bracken patches all over Britain. Despite the insect’s unassuming appearance, a new study published in the Biological Journal of the Linnean Society reports a variety and complexity in its mating patterns and sexual positions worthy of an insect Kama Sutra. Professor John Turner, Emeritus Professor in the University of Leeds’ School of Biology , said: “With most insects, you expect to find a fairly set mating process. In moths like this, you might see the female staying still, emitting a scent and then mating with the first male moth to arrive. “The love life of the gold swift moth is a veritable Kama Sutra of mating patterns and positions. Colleagues have commented that this is the most elaborate mating procedure known in any insect and I have certainly not observed anything to surpass it. Professor Turner identified an array of different courtship “dances”, with some individuals able to switch to alternative methods if their first gambits were frustrated: - • The female hangs from the foliage, emits a scent and mates with one of the males that arrive.