The Nuptial Gift

Subject: Tutong field work by Dr. Jane Lavall. Intercepted correspondence.
Status: Priority only
To: Michael S. Lighton (Research Chair)
From: Jane Lavall (Scientist)

During a lecture at Oxford university, I was asked if I thought whether humans and tutongs could ever be friends. There is an uneasy truce between our two species following the ‘Alien War of 2123’. While every part of me wants the answer to be a resounding yes, there are differences between our two species that must be overcome. To do so, we must first understand those differences and deal with them in a rational adult manner. For this reason, I am now providing you with an account of the events that took place in the Summer of 2125 in the hopes of clarifying those events and put an end to all sordid rumours.

I was invited to stay in a tutong colony to conduct informal studies of this extraterrestrial species in hopes of developing an understanding between us and them. I have written extensively about my time in the colony, and though I have tried to be as thorough as possible, I was unable to report on a topic that has been sensitive and the cause of much misinformation: the sex roles in the reproduction behavior of the tutong species.

The mating behavior of tutongs is of interest to us because this parameter determines in large part their social organization. Yet, most of what we know about tutong sexuality barely reaches the level of anecdotal and is more based on rumors and hearsay. A field study was arranged under the sponsorship of the Cascadia space force exobiology division. I was chosen for this field study not just because of my expertise in extraterrestrial ethology, but also because I am a female. In their rigidly matriarchal society, males do not possess political power. The tutong council steadfastly refuses to deal with human males. Therefore, understanding the basis of this behavior was, and still is, of utmost importance.

During my stay in the colony, I befriended a tutong male, who seemed eager to learn about us and to show me around the colony. His name is unpronounceable by humans because we do not possess the apparatus to vocalize the sounds, so I will call him Hugo. By tutong standards, Hugo was a young male, though he had been alive nearly 218 earth years. At this age, tutong males begin to enter their reproductive cycles in which they attract females who compete for his attention.

While he was not initially keen to answer my questions on this touchy subject, he eventually warmed up to me. Although they do not have a conception of science like we do, he understood that tutong reproductive behavior was of great value to us humans.

In the cover of night, he sneaked me into his home. As you know, the tutong live in hive-like colonies made of resin produced in their ‘factories’. Inside, there are several interconnected circular chambers that are kept dimly lit, as the tutong prefer low light conditions because of their high visual sensitivity.

We descended into a small chamber buried below ground where the air was cooler. The walls of the round chamber were smooth and somewhat translucent. There was a light in the room but its source, I could not discern. As strange as the chamber was, I was not prepared for the sight that awaited me within it. About half a dozen liquid-filled sacs hung from the ceiling- varying in size but roughly the size of a basketball. Vein-like structures covered each sac, which hung suspended in the air with the support of stretched tendons.

Image by @litguru

I was awestruck by this sight. Hugo made a buzzing sound that denoted pride and pleasure. With his permission, I reached up and gently touched the sacs with the tip of my fingers. They were soft like skin and warm. Again he chirped and buzzed, somewhat louder than before.

When I asked him about it, he was evasive, but I managed to extract enough information from him to piece this particular puzzle together.

The hanging structures were spermatophore sacs filled with a mix of nutrients and tutong spermatozoa.

Unlike humans, sexual selection pressures are greater in tutong females. That is, females compete for males instead of the other way around. The reason for this, I hypothesize, is that large amounts of resources and energy are required for male tutongs to produce copious amounts spermatophore fluid necessary to fill the sacs. They gift these sacs to a chosen female who then uses them to initiate the egg fertilization process. Once they have lain the eggs, the females are no longer involved in parenting. Instead, the males take over and bring the embryos to term by feeding them the nutritious bio-elixir.

While this seems like strange behavior to us, it is not completely alien. We see similar sexual selection behavior in some terrestrial species (e.g., brush crickets). In the tutong case, reproductive rate (as determined by the limited capacity of the male to produce healthy spermatophores) AND parental investment are the key variables that differentiates the sexes, for they limit the number of times the males can reproduce and bring the embryos to term. Therefore, in the tutong species, males are the choosy ones when it comes to sexual selection, while females compete for the limited pool of desirable males. Thus, given the limits imposed by the inequalities of the reproduction/parenting process, tutong social organization reflects this fact.

As you can see, I was rather excited about my findings, and I’m afraid at this point, I let my scientific curiosity get the best of me. As I was questioning him about the spermatophores, I saw Hugo reach up with one of his pincers and make a small incision on one of the sacs. A marble-sized drop of the gelatinous amber substance spilled into a concave cavity in his claw.

“Eat, friend,” he said.

I scanned the substance and was surprised to find out that it was mostly made of nutrients. Save for the DNA in the spermatozoa, there was nothing “alien” or out of the ordinary.

I rubbed the substance between my fingers, noticing its warm and sticky texture.

“Eat, friend,” Hugo repeated.

I realized then (and confirmed later) that the liquid served another function: community building. It is common for males to share their spermatophores with those they accept into their own hives. So not wanting to offend my generous host, and curious about the liquid, I placed a small drop of it on my tongue. The gelatinous substance quickly melted in my mouth. Sweet and salty, a tingling sensation spread over my tongue. I did not feel any other side effects save for a brief moment of elation, which I have attributed to the novelty of the situation.

Unfortunately, a couple of days after my clandestine meeting with Hugo, I was accosted by an orchestra of females who had somehow found out about our meeting and what had transpired. They were intent on harming me with their sharp mandibles. Thankfully, a group of males surrounded me and prevented them from carrying out the wicked deed.

I admit this was an unprofessional transgression on my part, and I have willingly accepted my censure. For it was this exchange, I am sure, the reason why I was asked to leave by the tutong council and future research projects were scrapped.

I did get a chance to say goodbye to Hugo, who seemed sad to see me go. I had developed a good rapport with him, and I miss him dearly. With his help, we have learned more about the behavioral and social patterns of tutong sexuality and social organization. Though the practice of sharing spermatophores may seem strange to us, it is not that different a mechanism from those found in earth’s species. Thus, understanding those species in the absence of direct contact with the tutongs would be highly beneficial in bringing about an end to hostilities and long lasting peace between our two species.

This letter is not intended to excuse any of my behavior. I take full responsibility. I do fervently believe that my skills and knowledge as a researcher are valuable in these unstable times. I beg of you to reconsider my suspension so that I may continue this line of research. I ask you not as a subordinate to a superior, not even as a friend, dear as you truly are, Michael, but as a fellow human who just wants a brighter future for all of us on this planet.

Thank you for reading my story. I loosely based this story on the behavior of the Mormon cricket, which apparently is not a cricket but a katydid. Males create a spermatophore that they give to the female as a nuptial gift. The spermatophore can be up to 27% of the male’s body weight, according to Wikipedia. The female uses it to eat and fertilize the eggs. Given that it’s difficult to produce a large enough spermatophore, then males are choosy about whom they give this nuptial gift to. They seem to prefer large females because of their “fecundity.” So females have to compete for males, not the other way around. This behaviour has been used as support for the theory that differential competition for mates arise from inequalities in parental investment and/or reproductive rates (in Alcock’s Animal Behavior: An Evolutionary Approach 5th ed.).

In regards to extra terrestrial life, I was inspired by a recent interview I heard with Arik Kershenbaum who wrote the Zoologist Guide to the Galaxy. He argues that if aliens exist, they might look familiar to us because the same selection pressures that determine our bio-mechanics could be at work in different planets regardless of our distance from them. If they are out there, then it makes sense that the same laws of physics are at work in our world as well as theirs.

Happy Valentines! 💝