1.7 The birds and the bees

It is an expression often used in reference to teaching someone about sex and pregnancy. In the olden times, the birds and the bees is a metaphorical story used to explain the mechanics and good consequences of sexual intercourse by referring to commonly seen natural events. For instance, the idea of bees carrying and depositing pollen into flowers explains male fertilisation, and that of birds laying eggs explaid female ovulation.

But, the mechanics of courtship and sexual intercourse of the birds and the bees can be very, very different from that of humans. Do you know how they attract partners and mate?

Frigate Birds

Compared to the mating rituals and accesories of peacocks, the frigatebirds are so much more awe-inspiring! A male frigatebird inflates his red throat sac into a giant heart-shaped balloon. This takes an immense effort, and 20 minutes. He then does a courtship dance by waggling his head from side to side, spreading and shaking his wings, and calls the females to take a good look at him.

A female frigatebird then makes her choice after the viewing, and usually the male with the biggest and shiniest balloon wins. During sexual intercourse, the male bird may even possessively put his wings over her eyes to ensure that she does not get to see other males with grander balloons!


Honey bees



A female bee is selected to be bred in a designated compartment in the bee hive. She is then fed a special diet of royal jelly by worker bees to induce maturation of her sexual characteristics.

This queen bee will proceed to go on a mating flight with about 15 - 20 male bees, otherwise called drones, picked out from tens of thousands eligible bachelors in the colony. However, this is a "kamikaze" mission, because during mating, their genitals explodes and the penis snaps off inside the queen!

This bizzare phenomenon is actually a "for the sake of honey bee-kind" philantropic act. The penis left inside the queen acts as a plug to prevent other drones from fertilizing her.

Watch the mating of honey bees here.