By: Jennifer Welsh, LiveScience Staff Writer
Published: 03/24/2012 11:46 AM EDT on LiveScience
We can't all be picky about our mates, and ants even less so. A new video taken by Adrián Skippy Purkart, a wildlife photographer from Slovakia, shows the ants swarming around repeatedly mating with their dying queen as a crab spider is consuming her head first. Sexy!
"I can't imagine anything more unpleasant than being sucked dry by a crab spider latched to my skull. Other than the same, but simultaneously being assaulted by a sex-crazed drone swarm," insect photographer Alex Wild said in a blog post.
The ants, a species called Prenolepis nitens, are a part of the ant genus commonly called the "false honey ants" or "winter ants." They are drawn to the female even though she is dying because she is still sending out chemical cues, researchers said.
"Mating in insects is facilitated by simple cues and signals. In many insects, including ants, the stimuli that induce males to attempt mating with a female are largely chemical," ant researcher Walter Tschinkel, of Florida State University, told LiveScience in an email. "Technically, this queen is not yet fully dead, and the chemical signals she emanates are undoubtedly still strong."
The video shows how strong the insect's mating behaviors are — These chemical cues are so strong the male ants are in a frenzy to mate with her, unfazed by her death and even the near presence of the crab spider predator.
"She is probably releasing tons of pheromones and the males are too hopped up on those pheromones to be very discriminating," researcher Rob Dunn, of North Carolina State University, told LiveScience in an email. "They are wasting time, but the vast majority of male ants die without mating at all, so they aren't wasting more time than average."
"I know folks that spend half their waking hours on Facebook," Tschinkel said. "That has about the same chance of increasing their fitness as does mating with a dead queen."
You can follow LiveScience staff writer Jennifer Welsh on Twitter @microbelover. Follow LiveScience for the latest in science news and discoveries on Twitter @livescience and on Facebook.
Copyright 2012 LiveScience, a TechMediaNetwork company. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Support HuffPost
Our 2024 Coverage Needs You
Your Loyalty Means The World To Us
At HuffPost, we believe that everyone needs high-quality journalism, but we understand that not everyone can afford to pay for expensive news subscriptions. That is why we are committed to providing deeply reported, carefully fact-checked news that is freely accessible to everyone.
Whether you come to HuffPost for updates on the 2024 presidential race, hard-hitting investigations into critical issues facing our country today, or trending stories that make you laugh, we appreciate you. The truth is, news costs money to produce, and we are proud that we have never put our stories behind an expensive paywall.
Would you join us to help keep our stories free for all? Your contribution of as little as $2 will go a long way.
As Americans head to the polls in 2024, the very future of our country is at stake. At HuffPost, we believe that a free press is critical to creating well-informed voters. That's why our journalism is free for everyone, even though other newsrooms retreat behind expensive paywalls.
Our journalists will continue to cover the twists and turns during this historic presidential election. With your help, we'll bring you hard-hitting investigations, well-researched analysis and timely takes you can't find elsewhere. Reporting in this current political climate is a responsibility we do not take lightly, and we thank you for your support.
Contribute as little as $2 to keep our news free for all.
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. Would you consider becoming a regular HuffPost contributor?
Dear HuffPost Reader
Thank you for your past contribution to HuffPost. We are sincerely grateful for readers like you who help us ensure that we can keep our journalism free for everyone.
The stakes are high this year, and our 2024 coverage could use continued support. If circumstances have changed since you last contributed, we hope you’ll consider contributing to HuffPost once more.
Support HuffPostAlready contributed? Log in to hide these messages.