The Fight Club ... for science :)

The Fight Club ... for science is for real as seen by the fight for food or domanence on the part of giant mesquite bugs as seen by the clip above. Said bugs, like many other denizens in the insect world, have defense structures used in the fight to get food or get mates as needs warrant. 

To whit.

Scientists at the University of Arizona set up their own "Bug Fight Club" in the lab, staging wrestling matches between insects to learn more about defensive structures and the evolution of weapons in the animal kingdom. They outlined their findings in two separate papers, one published last fall in the journal Functional Ecology and the other published last month in Proceedings of the Royal Society B.

It gets better. :)

"Biologists have generally assumed that the individual who inflicts more damage on their opponent will be more likely to win a given fight," said co-author John J. Wiens of the University of Arizona while explaining the reasoning behind Bug Fight Club. "Surprisingly, this fundamental assumption had yet to be tested in an experimental study."

Male and female giant mesquite bugs (<em>Thasus neocalifornicus</em>) on a branch in a mesquite tree in Southern Arizona, their natural habitat. Zachary Emberts/University of Arizona

So Wiens decided to design just such an experiment in his laboratory, using giant mesquite bugs (Thasus neocalifornicus). This is a species of the so-called coreid family, also known as leaf-footed bugs. They have thickened forewings as defensive structures. For offense, most coreid species will charge, kick, wrap around/squeeze, or grapple with opponents. Co-author Zachary Emberts, a postdoc in Wiens' lab, likened it to a college wrestling match, where the two bugs will approach and lock onto each other, trying to inflict damage with the enlarged spikes on their hind legs. "Think of it as a wrestling match where the opponents sneak knives in," Wiens added.

The loser usually retreats. Read the Ars piece. Detailed to the max. :)

 

To study the damage inflicted during wrestling matches between male giant mesquite bugs, the researchers outfitted some of them with body armor consisting of patches of faux leather glued onto their backs.