Kinky Bug Found in Museum's Gardens

I just got this e-mail from our Curator of Entomology, Brian Brown.

"I asked Entomology Volunteer Franesca Zern to concentrate on identifying true bugs from the North Campus Malaise trap. She just identified (through her own research) a new record for Los Angeles County, a mirid plant bug called Coridromius chenopoderis. This tiny, 2 mm long Australian bug feeds on plants, including beets and spinach, but is considered unlikely to be a pest. According to our colleagues at L.A. County Agriculture, this is the first report from here, although it is also known from farther south in California."

Photos of the bug taken by Inna Strazhnik:

 

But that's not all! Brian left Museum staff with this interesting tidbit:

"One interesting thing about these bugs is that they have traumatic insemination, like bed bugs. I won't broadcast the details, but yes it is as kinky as it sounds!"

Although Brian won't broadcast the details, I will! Traumatic insemination, aka hypodermic insemination, is a mating practice employed by some kinky invertebrates, bed bugs being the most notable. The male insect pierces the female's abdomen with his sword-like penis and injects sperm into the abdominal cavity. The sperm diffuses through the hemolymph (insect blood) and eventually reaches the ovaries. Hey presto, we've got fertilization! As you can imagine this process is no cake walk for the female insect in question. It creates open wounds which often lead to infection, thus shortening life expectancy. There we have it folks, another post about kinky InSEX.