Monkey Beetles Business

Monkey Beetles Business

Monkey beetles are generally docile unassuming insects. They take shelter within the flowers that they pollinate, earning themselves a free home through their work of pollinating the flower. Everyone wins, and no one goes home sad. However, when mating season arrives, these guys turn into full-fledged warriors. Monkey beetle mating is no easy task, as the female monkey beetles will only mate on a flower. This means that if a male wants to secure a mate he must also claim a flower as his territory.

When a male monkey beetle spots a female he has to quickly fly over and lay claim to the mate and the flower before another monkey beetle gets there first. Even after he’s approached the female, he’s likely to be challenged by another male monkey beetle. And so the battle begins. The two males will fight for the rights to the flower and the female in a fierce battle to the death atop flimsy petals. And boy do these guys get down and dirty. I watched a video of a fight, and the two males became so engrossed in fighting each other that they accidentally pushed the female out of the flower. Talk about single-minded determination. The winner didn’t seem too concerned by this either. When he realized the female was gone he just went out looking for another one.

Does this behavior remind you a little of the way guys can behave when fighting over a woman? They get so focused on their fight with the other male that they forget about the female they are supposed to be fighting for. Did you notice how similar the behavior of these males is to human ones?