While you’re not looking

The footage of nema­tode mat­ing is strangely mes­meris­ing and sur­pris­ingly elegant.

The male presses the front side of his tail against the her­maph­ro­dite, while he backs along and searches for the vulva. The tail, con­trolled by the neu­ro­trans­mit­ter acetyl­choline, embraces the her­maph­ro­dite, curl­ing round in its quest for the vulva.

On find­ing it, the male inserts cop­u­la­tory struc­tures called spicules and mat­ing com­mences. There are six steps involved in worm mat­ing behaviour.

Source: BMC Biol­ogy, New Sci­en­tist