Girls will be boys and boys will be girls, but a little-known Brazilian insect takes role reversal to a whole new level. Scientists researching the cave-dwelling Neotrogla say the female sports an impressive man-hood, which she uses to “mate” with her male partner.
He, on the other hand, is blessed with what the researchers describe as a “much-reduced, v**ina-like opening”. As if that does not make the insect’s s*x life interesting enough, copulation between the two S****Xes can last up to 70 hours.
“Although s*x-role reversal has been identified in several different animals, Neotrogla is the only example in which the intromittent organ is also reversed,” said lead scientist Dr Kazunori Yoshizawa, from Hokkaido University in Japan.
A study of four species of the Neotrogla showed that the man-hood-like structure of the female, called a gynosome, is inserted into males and used to receive capsules of nutrient and s***m.
Once within a male, the part inflates and projects spines which anchor the two insects together.
The scientists found it impossible to pull coupling males and females apart without causing injury. Their description of Neotrogla’s strange mating habits is published in the journal Current Biology.