Talk:Traumatic insemination

Can someone fix this?
" It has been suggested that the spermalege reduces the damage to the female bed bug during traumatic insemination. However, statistical experiments showed no conclusive evidence for that hypothesis; hygienic protection against bacterias being the preferred explanation for that organ." - This is contradictory. If the spermalege provides hygienic protection, it reduces the damage to the female during traumatic insemination. I can't believe this hasn't been noticed before. 108.77.140.14 (talk) 06:49, 30 October 2012 (UTC)
 * " It has been suggested that the spermalege reduces the direct damage to the female bed bug during traumatic insemination." is that better? — MIRROR (talk) 07:12, 30 October 2012 (UTC)

Anthropomorphism?
I fear that certain portions of this article wander into anthropomorphism, attributing (in particular) human goals and emotions to animals without real justification. I've tried to "back down" some of the statements, but more needs to be done in this very interesting article. --Piledhigheranddeeper (talk) 14:22, 9 April 2009 (UTC)
 * I don't see any evidence of undo anthropomorphism in this article. The one edit you did make (changing "coervice sex" to "apparently coercive sex") is contradicted by all the literature on the subject. Raul654 (talk) 02:05, 10 April 2009 (UTC)
 * I beg to differ. Numerous sources, even the Wikipedia article on Animal sexual behaviour mention "apparently coercive" sexual conduct.  To attribute human thought processes, etc., to animals is go go out on a long limb, as overtly acknowledged by some of the same sources.--Piledhigheranddeeper (talk) 14:51, 12 April 2009 (UTC)
 * I also beg to differ. "Coercion" may have the appearance of requiring human thought processes, but that assumption is all in your mind. Coercion takes place all the time without the involvement of human or human-like thought processes. Cgingold (talk) 09:28, 21 July 2010 (UTC)
 * The entire "Similar mating practices" section assumes that TI is coercive and most comparable to rape or forced sex, an assumption not supported by the information in the article. Bedbugs and Stylopidia species, for example, reproduce solely by TI, meaning that the female has just as much interest in the mating encounter as the male.  The fact that some females resist impregnation while others don't implies that the range of female behaviors in species practicing TI is similar to those that practice "normal" sex: some resist (like the water beetles cited) and some don't. CouldOughta (talk) 04:06, 27 July 2010 (UTC)

PMID and PMC references
Please use the toolserver template filler to generate FULL references, including all relevant URLs and identifiers, for PubMed sources - I took a long time going through the article to do this by hand recently, and since new sources have been added by hand I do not wish to do this again. —Vanderdecken∴ ∫ξφ 15:26, 9 April 2009 (UTC)
 * Neat too. I've filled in the new citations. Raul654 (talk) 02:05, 10 April 2009 (UTC)

Wow
I think this article serves as a short sharp dismissal of any intelligent design theory that involves a benevolent God. --86.156.134.242 (talk) 17:13, 9 April 2009 (UTC)

Amusing commentary on this article
Here. I admit, I laughed a lot. Raul654 (talk) 06:34, 24 June 2009 (UTC)

File:Traumatic insemination 1 edit1.jpg to appear as POTD soon
Hello! This is a note to let the editors of this article know that File:Traumatic insemination 1 edit1.jpg will be appearing as picture of the day on June 4, 2010. You can view and edit the POTD blurb at Template:POTD/2010-06-04. If this article needs any attention or maintenance, it would be preferable if that could be done before its appearance on the Main Page so Wikipedia doesn't look bad. :) Thanks!  howcheng  {chat} 16:20, 3 June 2010 (UTC)

Note
A quick note - at some point, I or someone else here should contact Mike Siva-Jothy and get him to review this article. And also get permission to use some of these pics. Raul654 (talk) 16:55, 12 June 2010 (UTC)

Huh?
I read this sentence in the current version of the article:

In the genus Afrocimex, both species have well developed ectospermalege but only females have a mesospermalege. (bold emphasis added).

Shouldn't the word "species" be changed to "sexes"? 98.82.22.154 (talk) 19:36, 27 July 2010 (UTC)
 * Possibly a typo, but I don't have a copy of the source text in front of me to make a comparison. Raul654 (talk) 14:43, 28 July 2010 (UTC)

This article deserved an entire day in the featured "did you know?" article section. I think that it should be made a featured article immediately. This is particularly topical because it was discussed, albeit indirectly, in a clip played during "The Daily Show with Jon Stewart." In this clip, a European woman dressed as a bedbug exclaimed, "He ejaculates in my wound." If we can't contextualize this incident for people, their lives won't be enriched, and wikipedia is totally about enriching people's lives. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.16.15.122 (talk) 05:51, 30 August 2010 (UTC)
 * The woman on the Daily Show clip was Isabella Rossellini. Know your pop culture ;) Raul654 (talk) 05:54, 30 August 2010 (UTC)

water striders not water spiders
unable to edit this section but there is a typo--Jrm2007 (talk) 12:23, 3 September 2010 (UTC)
 * Fixed. Raul654 (talk) 15:00, 3 September 2010 (UTC)

"has led to" not "has lead to"
Typo in bean weevil photo caption. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 50.9.55.111 (talk) 07:52, 3 July 2011 (UTC)

Homosexual traumatic insemination correction

 * In the genus Afrocimex, both species have well developed ectospermalege (but only females have a mesospermalege).

Should be:


 * In the genus Afrocimex, both sexes have well developed ectospermalege (but only females have a mesospermalege). — Preceding unsigned comment added by 184.76.123.123 (talk) 08:58, 26 October 2012 (UTC)

Citation correction
Checked via Google books, the citation in section Traumatic insemination should be corrected on 3 points from:
 * In the genus Afrocimex, both species have well developed ectospermalege (but only females have a mesospermalege). The male ectospermalege is slightly different from that found in females, and amazingly enough, Carayon (1966) found that male Afrocimex bugs suffer actual homosexual traumatic inseminations. He found the male ectospermalege often showed characteristic mating scars, and histological studies showed "foreign" sperm were widely dispersed in the bodies of these homosexually mated males. Sperm cells of other males were, however, never found in or near the male reproductive tract. It therefore seems unlikely that sperm from other males could be inseminated when a male that has himself suffered traumatic insemination mates with a females. The costs and benefits, if any, of homosexual traumatic insemination in Afrocimex remain unknown.[1]

to:
 * In the genus Afrocimex, both species have well developed ectospermalege (but only females have a mesospermalege). The male ectospermalege is slightly different from that found in females, and amazingly enough, Carayon (1966) showed that male Afrocimex bugs suffer actual homosexual traumatic inseminations. He found that the male ectospermalege often showed characteristic mating scars, and histological studies showed "foreign" sperm were widely dispersed in the bodies of these homosexually mated males. Sperm cells of other males were, however, never found in or near the male reproductive tract. It therefore seems unlikely that sperm from other males could be inseminated when a male that has himself suffered traumatic insemination mates with a  females female. The costs and benefits, if any, of homosexual traumatic insemination in Afrocimex remain unknown.

The article is edit-locked at least for IPs. --87.174.11.136 (talk) 05:17, 11 September 2011 (UTC)

Block quotes and photo issues
1. The block quotes seem excessive and out of place, especially in the absence of quotation marks or italics to properly denote such. Why are some sources block quoted while others are merely referenced? A paraphrasing of all sources would be much more preferred, as the exact wording isn't as important as the content itself.

2. The photo of the rodent sperm plug seems a bit out of place in an article about invertebrate mating. --Animalparty-- (talk) 01:13, 16 November 2013 (UTC)

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified 1 one external link on Traumatic insemination. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit this simple FaQ for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Corrected formatting/usage for http://dels.nas.edu/ilar_n/ilarjournal/33_1_2/V33_1_2Question.shtml

When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true or failed to let others know (documentation at ).

Cheers.—cyberbot II  Talk to my owner :Online 21:11, 2 April 2016 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 13 May 2016
The section "Similar mating practices" might need to re rewritten as quotes are introduced without in text citation and would be better off paraphrased, or introducing the source of the quote, though it seems like the link for that source does no longer work as intended.

23.24.132.233 (talk) 04:23, 13 May 2016 (UTC)

Saying something "might need to be re-written" is not a Semi-protected edit request. - Arjayay (talk) 06:57, 13 May 2016 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: as you have not requested a specific change in the form "Please replace XXX with YYY" or "Please add ZZZ between PPP and QQQ".

External links modified
Hello fellow Wikipedians,

I have just modified 1 one external link on Traumatic insemination. Please take a moment to review my edit. If you have any questions, or need the bot to ignore the links, or the page altogether, please visit User:Cyberpower678/FaQs for additional information. I made the following changes:
 * Added archive http://web.archive.org/web/20090619101816/http://www.cartage.org.lb:80/en/themes/sciences/Zoology/AnimalPhysiology/CirculatorySystem/CirculatorySystem.htm to http://www.cartage.org.lb/en/themes/sciences/zoology/AnimalPhysiology/CirculatorySystem/CirculatorySystem.htm

When you have finished reviewing my changes, please set the checked parameter below to true or failed to let others know (documentation at ).

Cheers.—cyberbot II  Talk to my owner :Online 15:50, 10 June 2016 (UTC)

Semi-protected edit request on 7 December 2016
Please change "The process is detrimental to the female's health." to "The process may be detrimental to the female's health." because there is evidence that female's of some species have adapted to withstand the costs from traumatic insemination.

Please change "...can also trigger an immune reaction in the female." to include "However, it has been observed that females of some species have adapted to handle traumatic insemination, rendering it less detrimental ."

Please add following sentences as second paragraph of article because it provides a clear, more understandable, and clear-cut picture of what traumatic insemination is. "Traumatic insemination involves mechanisms of internal fertilizers that cause the partner’s integument to be wounded by modified accessory organs—in the explicit context of copulation. Consecutively, it excludes circumstances in which injuries are caused during courtship rituals due to aggressive male-male or female-male interactions. For example, male-male fighting occurs in many species prior to reproduction. If a female accidentally is harmed during that interaction, it is not considered traumatic insemination. Some specific phrases that exhibit traumatic insemination include, but are not limited to : •	Cutaneous fertilization or insemination •	Dermal sperm-injection •	Epidermal impregnation •	Hypodermic impregnation •	Tissue penetration by sperm •	Copulatory wounding •	Genital damage •	Internal injury by armored male genitalia •	Body piercing •	Intrahaemocoelic injection of accessory gland material •	Procopulatory stabbing"

Please change "The evolutionary origins of traumatic insemination are disputed." to "The evolutionary origins of traumatic insemination are disputed, though it is likely that both natural and sexual selection have contributed ." because it adds more essential information that aids in the understanding.

Please change "...traumatic insemination is most highly adapted and thoroughly studied in bed bugs,particularly Cimex lectularius" to "...traumatic insemination is thoroughly studied in bed bugs, particularly Cimex lectularius," because there is a lack of evidence to support that traumatic insemination is most highly adapted in bed bugs. They may simply just be the easiest to study.

Please change "Both homosexual and inter-species traumatic inseminations have been observed." to "Both homosexual and inter-species traumatic inseminations have been observed. Additionally, it has been identified in some hermaphrodites and self-fertilizing organisms." because there is evidence showing traumatic insemination in hermaphrodites and self-fertilizing organisms that should be included on the Wikipedia page.

Under the mechanics section, please add "The exact placement of the inflicted wound is unknown in some species and varies widely across taxa . It can be intragenital or extragenital, where extragenital is more common. Whereas many species show random, unsystematic traumatic insemination, others do exhibit specific target sights. This could point to physical constraints such as, only being able to reach certain areas because of specific mating postures or restricted areas of soft/thin tissue that allow for insemination . Specific sites could reflect a location with favorable organs that increase male paternity. For example, the injection of sperm at a precise location can aid in bypassing parts of the female reproductive tract that can manipulate fertilization ."

Please change "Many reasons for the evolutionary adaptation of traumatic insemination as a mating strategy have been suggested. One is that traumatic insemination is an adaptation to the development of the mating plug, a reproductive mechanism used by many species. Once a male finishes copulating, he injects a glutinous secretion into the female's reproductive tract, thereby "literally glu[ing] her genital tract closed".[9] Traumatic insemination allows subsequent males to bypass the female's plugged genital tract, and inject sperm directly into her circulatory system." to "Many reasons for the evolutionary adaptation of traumatic insemination have been suggested. Notably, traumatic insemination may have evolved as a response to sexual competition . In species that practice polygamy, males face uncertainty about their sperm fate both before and after mating . In turn, competition between males to fertilize several females increases which causes elevated levels of conflict and violent tactics . The sperm-donating individuals of many species look to control the fate of their sperm in order to increase their fitness. Violent mechanisms can enforce mating and ensure that their sperm will fertilize the egg usually by bypassing various parts of reproductive tracts that process sperm . For example, in female cryptic choice, recipient’s tracts commonly have the ability to store sperm or digest it . By avoiding the digestive mechanisms, the donor is guaranteed that their sperm will be utilized.

Traumatic insemination subsequently may be an adaptation to the development of the mating plug, a reproductive mechanism used by many species."

Please add to evolutionary adaptation "A major factor provoking traumatic insemination is the environment that it occurs in: notably air, water, or other turbulent environments. It is crucial that the sperm-donor is able to continuously have contact with their partner in order to completely deposit sperm or secretions necessary for reproduction. As a result, selection will favor characteristics/structures that allow for physical anchorage or prevent unwanted detachment. A component of traumatic insemination is preventing female resistance to mating and competing aggressively with other males. In turn, structures that allow for physical anchorage are favored. This is because they prevent females from interfering with genitalia contact prior to complete insemination and rival males will be unable to displace already mating males

Please change "This bizarre method of insemination probably evolved as male bed bugs competed with each other to place their sperm..." to "In bed bugs, this bizarre method of insemination probably evolved as male competed with each other to place their sperm closer..." because the original idea makes it sound like traumatic insemination only occurs in beg bugs. The rearrangement makes the paragraph be an example of one kind of traumatic insemination instead.

Please change section title "Health Repercussions" to "Costs" because the original title only describes health consequences of traumatic insemination. Costs encompasses all of the ways that traumatic insemination may effect health but also everyday necessary activities that species may experience.

Under Costs, please add "Though the health repercussions are much more understood and prevalent, males experience some costs as well. Firstly, this mating practice commonly involves having specialized accessory reproductive organs. Males must be able to allocate energy to maintain those structures and functions which can be costly. That then reduces their investment in courtship, development, immune defense, or other necessary reproductive organs . One benefit of traumatic insemination, physical anchorage, can also be detrimental to males. Tight attachments might be difficult to dislodge and some males may be unable to, causing them to remain lodged and die ." because it includes essential information about how traumatic insemination is costly to males as well as females, which is less talked about.

Under Bed Bug Adaptation, please add "Interspecific traumatic insemination occurs when males and females that are not co-adapted to each other attempt to mate. Indiscriminate male mating behavior and flawed mate recognition may be the driving forces behind it. However, interspecies traumatic insemination has been found to be severely detrimental and costly to the affected females. As a result, it might drive diversification . Cases of traumatic insemination between animals of different species will sometimes provoke a possibly lethal immune reaction. A female Cimex lectularius traumatically inseminated by a male C. hemipterus will swell up at the site of insemination as the immune system responds to male ejaculates. In the process, the female's lifespan is reduced. In some cases, this immune reaction can be so massive as to be almost immediately fatal. A female Hesperocimex sonorensis will swell up, blacken, and die within 24–48 hours after being traumatically inseminated by a male H. cochimiensis.[1] As a result of the detrimental costs, mechanisms to avoid interspecies traumatic insemination have been created. Common mechanisms include having discrete host plants or diverse reproductive organs. In most species of Coridromus, they have discrete host plants and as expected, male and female genital are invariable. However two species, C. tabitiensis and C. taravao, inhabit the same host plant. As a result, there’s considerable variance in male genitalia and females have intricate, differing paragenitalia that allows for insemination at different areas on their abdomen. In theory, the differences will allow for more accurate mate recognition that will decrease the chance of interspecific traumatic insemination.

because it discusses interspecific traumatic insemination. Originally, this was a section of its own but studies have shown that the events that occur may only be present in bed bugs which is why it makes sense for it to be moved to the bed bug adaptation section. Additionally, the paragraphs contain information from recent studies that show more examples and evidence of interspecific traumatic insemination.

Please change section title "Use in the Animal Kingdom" to "Taxonomic Distribution" because it better presents the prevalence of traumatic insemination since it isn't widely used throughout the animal kingdom but is used in several taxon.

Please change "In the genus Afrocimex, both species have well developed ectospermalege (but only females have a mesospermalege)." to "In the genus Afrocimex, both sexes have well developed ectospermalege (but only females have a mesospermalege)." because I believe the author for this one meant that both males and females of the genus Afrocimex have well development ectospermalege. Rather than both species because what other species is being mentioned?

Please add a section titled "Hermaphroditic Traumatic Insemination" with the following sentences: "Often, hermaphroditic species have been observed exhibiting damaging mating strategies more often than species with distinct sexes. Foremost, hermaphrodites commonly have remarkably intricate genital systems that makes injurious or aggressive mechanisms unavoidable. It fundamentally, however, comes down to female promiscuity which may have negative impacts on male reproductive success. In an effort to increase their chances of paternity, males may increase levels of harm to directly deposit their sperm into females. Subsequently, this behavior leads to it being more advantageous to mate solely in the male role, which further increases sperm competition . As a consequence, a cycle appears to form as the levels of harm increase, causing higher rates of acting-males, which provokes heightened competition. That then starts the cycle again with a greater need for violent mating habits. This practice is common throughout hermaphroditic species such as leeches, flatworms, land snails, and sea slugs. The drive behind traumatic insemination in some hermaphrodites is gaining paternity, often through mating with acting-females that have already mated. By directly inserting the sperm into the body cavity of the female, the male can ensure that their sperm is the one fertilizing the eggs. Though it may decrease female fitness and fecundity, it is believed that this method will be utilized when the benefits of paternity outweigh the cost paid by the females. Though the damage caused by traumatic insemination in hermaphrodites is relatively unknown right now, it has been observed that it can provoke unilateral copulations in populations that must maintain reciprocity. Land snails are amongst the various hermaphroditic species that exhibit a form of traumatic insemination – the shooting of love darts. The accessory organ is a hard, sharp object formed of aragonite, a crystalline form of calcium carbonate. The land snail has a muscular dart sac that keeps the love dart inverted until use. When fired as a contact shot, the dart will pierce the partner’s body wall, sometimes entering internal organs. The dart itself does not release sperm or fertilize the female but rather, it contains a mucus that causes conformational changes in the reproductive tract. The organ that digests sperm – bursa copulax – will be closed off while the copulatory canal experiences induced peristalsis. The combination of the blocked bursa copulax and peristaltic movements seems to promote sperm storage while delaying sperm digestion. Thus, the sperm donor is increasing their chance of paternity by forcing the sperm to be present longer in the female. Some methods of traumatic insemination are detrimental to hermaphroditic species that commonly rely on reciprocated copulations. The bidirectional exchange of sperm causes the individuals to alternate between acting as male and females rather than maintaining a predominant sex. However, the costs to acting-females via traumatic insemination makes it more advantageous to be an acting-male. This often provokes unilateral copulations in hermaphroditic species. The sea slug, Siphopteron quadrispinosum, is one hermaphroditic species that has increased levels of unilateral copulations because it is more beneficial to be the acting-male while mating. The male stabs the acting-female with a bipartite penis with multiple spines that injects prostrate fluids then a true penis will be inserted to allow release of sperm. The acting-male will then avoid stabbing efforts by the acting-female to evade the costs/injuries caused by the traumatic insemination. Through parapod shaking, penile inflation, rapid circling and minimal exposure to the ventral side, the acting-male will refuse to alternate roles. In the long-run, traumatic insemination in S. quadrispinosum, amongst other hermaphrodite species, can induce unilateral copulations leading to one sex being favored.

Please add a new section titled "Hypodermic Self-insemination" with the following sentences: "Self-fertilization through hypodermic insemination has been found to occur in some taxa as a reproductive assurance strategy . Though it is relatively prominent in hermaphrodites, it is also found in various organisms where the gametes of the different sexes cannot efficiently meet . In the event that the chances of reproduction are slim, such as low mate availability, self-insemination may be initiated. It can function to continue population growth but also to avoid outcrossing. Outcrossing is defined as breeding with one that is not closely related; it allows for the introduction of new genetic information. Self-fertilization will preferred when it is deemed more beneficial than outcrossing . Unfortunately, the reproductive and longevity costs of self-insemination are questionable and require supplementary research. The flatworm Macrostomum hystrix is an example of a hermaphroditic species that can self-fertilize. In one study, individuals of the population were isolated to determine the prevalence of self-insemination. It was found that when there is a low availability of mates, they will shift to self-fertilization via self-insemination. Interestingly, they will inject the sperm into the further anterior areas of their body – mostly the head (possibly because that area is most easily reached). By using the male copulatory organ – a needle-like stylet – they will inject their own sperm that will then migrate to the site where fertilization can actually occur. However, the study concluded that the self-insemination displayed by M. hystrix may be a conditional response due to being isolated. In the event that they can out-cross, self-insemination will be avoided while fertilization by an unrelated species will be favored. In another study, the sea slug species Alderia willowi was isolated to determine the prevalence of self-insemination. Initially, they began producing unfertilized clutches of eggs, showing that no reproductive strategy was provoked. After a few days, selfing became evident as fertilized clutches were produced. It has been presumed that their long and flexible penis may facilitate self-insemination because it allows for the direct deposit of sperm while bypassing internal barriers that may otherwise prevent fertilization. However, the fecundity of the sea slug decreased in the event of self-insemination. It was hypothesized that the tissue damage caused by hypodermic insemination and the high rate of mating in sea slugs together formed an intrinsic cost that affects fecundity. The energy that normally would be allocated to egg production will instead be focused on repairing the damage caused by the needle-like stylet that inserted the sperm. Discouragingly, it remains unclear if self-insemination is accidental – occurring due to the long needle-like penis unintentionally piercing the abdomen – or if it is strategic and beneficial ." Victoriagraham (talk) 20:34, 7 December 2016 (UTC)
 * Red information icon with gradient background.svg Not done: please establish a consensus for this alteration before using the template. Also, it may be helpful for you to request individual changes to the article, rather than one giant request.  The size of this request approaches the length of the page, making it difficult both to read and respond to it.  B E C K Y S A Y L E S  16:06, 29 December 2016 (UTC)