Researchers Darryl Gwynne and David Rentz were working in Western Australia when they noticed that male jewel beetles were climbing all over beer bottles on the side of the road clearly trying to mate with them.

The beetles weren’t interested in beer cans or in wine bottles, just the beer bottles. As it turns out these bottles have every trait that a male beetle looks for in a female beetle: They’re big, orangey-brown, shiny, and dimpled.

Regardless of the mating not going as a male beetle might expect, they are so persistent that they will try to mate with the bottle until they die in the heat of the sun or get eaten by ants.

(More at Discovery News, via Rats Off)

* * * * *

Like 22 Words on Facebook and you'll never run out of crazy, funny, and interesting links!