A Pair of Peck's Skippers

We don't know if arthropods feel love, but they do have sex. Since some females potentially eat males after sex (some mantises and spiders), it seems unlikely there's a loving relationship there. And most of the time male and female arthropods come together for a fairly short amount of time, suggesting they don't really know each other very well, let alone feel affection for one another.

On this Valentine's Day, here are a couple breeding Peck's Skippers. (More about them are here.) Lepidopterans (like a fair number of other insects) breed facing away from each other with the tips of their abdomens touching.

September 7, 2021 at Washington Valley Park
Photo 167829670, (c) jpviolette, some rights reserved (CC BY-NC)


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