15 Otherworldly Ways That Earthly Creatures Get It On
![15 Otherworldly Ways That Earthly Creatures Get It On](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/5/2/827152_320x180.jpg)
Mating rituals are one of the most interesting aspects of animal behavior. They can be quite complex and vary from species to species. Some mating rituals are downright strange, while others are simply adorable. Mating rituals vary from species to species. Depending on the animal, the process of finding a mate and then mating can be simple or complicated, quick or drawn out, and involve various behaviors and displays.
As humans, we like to think of ourselves as the top of the food chain. We're at the top of the world, and nothing can touch us. But when it comes to sex, we're not as different from lower life forms as we might like to think. In fact, some of the ways that earthly creatures get it on are downright otherworldly. So if you're looking for a little bit of a different kind of sexual inspiration, read on! You might be surprised at what you find.
![ONE HIT WONDER BE GRACKED.COM Impressively, honey bees mate mid-flight, but males only get one shot at it, since his testicles explode, his abdominal tissue is ripped from his body and left in the female, and he dies.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/6/0/827160.jpg)
Source: onekindplanet
![CRASH BE INTO ME GRAGKED.COM Male and female anglerfish melt into each other and share bodies forever. Newly born male anglerfish will die unless they find a female to physically fuse to. When the female reproduces, she uses her new male appendage to fertilize her eggs.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/5/5/827155.jpg)
Source: blog.padi
![TASTE TEST GRACKED.COM A male giraffe finds out if a female is ready to mate by drinking her urine. Once he knows she is ready, he may need to fight off competition by swinging his long neck at other suitors.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/5/7/827157.jpg)
Source: zoohoo
![PUSHY! BE CRACKED COM Sadly, female water striders don't get much choice, because if she refuses a male's advances, he'll hold her under water and tap the surface to attract predators. She has to decide if she wants to be his mate or someone's lunch, because he won't stop attracting predators until she gives in.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/6/8/827168.jpg)
Source: poulins
![COIN FLIP BE GRAGKED.COM After being lured to a female praying mantis by pheromones, males may or may not get to mate before the female bites their head off. Some get away uninjured, but overall, males make up around 60% of the females' diet during mating season (and females that eat males appear to lay more eggs).](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/5/9/827159.jpg)
Source: onekindplanet
![DROOLING BE OVER HER CRACKED COM Female scorpionflies are wooed by spit and choose a mate based on saliva secretion. The male draws her in by hacking up a drippy gift, then reuses whatever's left to romance new conquests.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/6/1/827161.jpg)
Source: time
![PATERNITY BE TEST CRACKED.COM It's a competitive market for red garter snakes. Up to 100 males can go after a single female at the same time, and the female ends up in the middle of a large mating ball.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/6/6/827166.jpg)
Source: onekindplanet
![CUPID'S ARROW CRACKED.COM Garden snails have both male and female organs, and in a sexual encounter, both snails are impregnated. Sperm is injected by stabbing the other snail with a sharp reproductive organ (nicknamed the love dart) and multiple stabbings could result in death.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/6/5/827165.jpg)
Source: kqed
![CORPSE OFFERINGS B CRACKED.COM The male nursery web spider comes bearing gifts of insect carcasses wrapped in silk, which he gives to the female before mating. Scientists believe this could either be a thoughtful show of parental investment, or it's meant to prevent her from eating him.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/6/7/827167.jpg)
Source: cbc.ca
![ALL NIGHT BE LONG GRACKED.COM The male porcupine breaks the ice by climbing a tree and soaking the female with urine. If she likes how it smells, she will mate with him over and over again for 12 hours (which is enough to get her pregnant 90% of the time).](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/6/2/827162.jpg)
Source: cbc.ca
![DON'T LET THE BED BUGS STAB CRACKED.COM A male bedbug stabs a female in the abdomen with his sharpened genitalia and inseminates her directly in her body cavity. Her body can handle the stabbing, but sometimes males mistake other males for females and kill them with their needlelike member.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/5/6/827156.jpg)
Source: time
![DECORATIVE OFFERINGS CRACKED.COM Male puffer fish build elaborate crop circles on the sandy ocean floor to attract females. It takes the males hours to create these intricate designs, and once they mate, the female lays her eggs in the center of the circle.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/5/8/827158.jpg)
Source: blog.padi
![STAGE 5 BE CLINGER GRACKED COM Male soapberry bugs heavily outnumber females, so when they find one, they stay connected to her for up to 11 days to make sure she doesn't mate with another male. Some males stay connected with the female until she is ready to lay her eggs.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/6/9/827169.jpg)
Source: poulins
![TRADE YA! BE CRACKED.COM Male hippos use their spinning tails and some of the most powerful farts on earth to fling urine and feces far and wide, making sure any females in the area can smell it. If a female is interested, she'll raise her rear up out of the water and shower him in dung. Scientists call this submissive defecation.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/6/3/827163.jpg)
Source: cbc.ca
![CONGA LINE GRACKED.COM Sea hares (a type of sea slug) are hermaphrodites that mate in groups by creating a mating chain. The one in front acts as a female to the one behind it in a giant sea slug orgy.](https://s3.crackedcdn.com/phpimages/imageset/1/6/4/827164.jpg)
Source: blog.padi