Many a studious observer has seen for himself that male insects use special tricks to woo reluctant females. Crickets and grasshoppers are musically inclined; butterflies lean to perfumes; mayflies spice up their seductions with dancing.
Zoologist Dieter Matthes of West Germany's Erlangen University has now proved that the males of the Malachiidae, a family of tiny beetles usually found in the tropics, entice the females first with a tarty nectar, then surreptitiously slip them an aphrodisiac to loosen their inhibitions.
After a long stretch as a persistent voyeur, Dr. Matthes learned that male Malachiidae beetles have tufts of fine hair growing...
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