Hello folks who wonder if the only reason we use salad dressing is to mask the noxious taste of veggies in your salad,

One of the challenges of writing a blog are the responsibilities one is obligated to fulfill. There are a lot of tender, innocent, young minds following this blog that might go on the wrong path from reading my blog, so it is my responsibility to point them in the right direction as TikTok is already showing them how to live a virtuous life. So, today's post is dedicated to ensuring those young, delicate minds learn some things about the adult world they might be curious about without any of the embarrassment.

*clears throat. So, ummm.. so.. today, I wanted to talk about why 2 living things might decide to spend time together and start a family. Any ideas why 2 living things of the same species might want to meet each other?

*raises hand. So, so they can play with different toys.

Good answer, yes they might want to play with each other's toys. (oh gawd, this is harder than I expected..sigh)

But why would they decide to get married?

*raises hand. So, so they can get more Instagram likes on their photos.

That's right, it's not official till it's on Instagram. But then why would they want to have a baby?

*raises hand. So, so they wouldn't have to wait in line for the boarding at airports.

Well, you kids know everything. Class dismissed!

Ever wondered what happens when you hand out food to the pigeon at a public square out of compassion?

The next step is the male mounting the female while flapping his wings to keep his balance. The act of mating is really quick in pigeons and you might even miss it if you get distracted to check that notification on your phone. Seen below is the female running away when she realizes there is a creep recording this encounter.

Since both of the pigeon partners are dedicated parents that contribute to raising their young, we end up with more pigeon adults in our cities. More free food means shifting life priorities to making more babies, we soon end up with a situation like the one shown below.

Now if your idea of romance is no long lasting relationships, then I present you the moth. Moths indulge in a pump and dump scheme where the male essentially pumps (transfers) the genes to the female and then dumps the female. The female on the other hand will pump out the eggs and then dump them after laying them. But today we won't pass any judgements on their parenting styles, instead we will look at their mating ritual which is truly fascinating.

Scientists speculate that moths have a lock and key mechanism that prevents different species of moths from mating with each other and making new species since we already have a hard time classifying the existing species of moths. This mating process where the male inserts the key inside the lock lasts for several hours and it does not disturb them even if you go up close for a neat shot.

 

This male Clearwing Tussock moth was a little late to the party since the female had already begun mating with another male. Here is how the scene looked. The female is on the left while the male has the clear wing and is on the right.

But I was curious what happens under the sheets, so I flipped this couple to take a closer look. (*Audience starts rolling their eyes). Below  you can see the male actively pumping his genes into the female.

These moths will not eat during their time on this planet as adults and all their energy and focus is just on mating and leaving a legacy behind. The dysfunctional proboscis on the adult reminds us of the same.