So I posted this on inaturalist and learned they are two different types of skippers trying to mate and that apparently, while rare, it does happen although rarely successful.
Anyone else have had such encounters?
I’m fascinated by this subject and would love to see what other odd pairs people have captured.
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Cool observation! There is a project that aims to collect observations like this in one place: https://www.inaturalist.org/projects/interspecies-insect-mating
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Here’s the observation, if anyone wants to add it to projects.
I don’t know if you were interested in just insects, but here’s a cool observation of a male American kestrel wooing a female merlin.
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Cotinis mutabilis regularly tries to inseminate my fingers whenever I handle it.
I have also often seen Eleodes attempting copulation with Coelocnemis and vice versa.
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Thank you!!
Any odd pair is interesting to me!
That observation is so cool
How does this happen?? Do they not know who they’re supposed to be mating with??
I could understand if there is a lack of females or males at one given point but in my garden there were plenty skippers around.
Many male insects naturally mate somewhat indiscriminately, whether or not females are plentiful. It might have something to do with evolutionary pressures associated w high sperm competition.
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