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Photinus Fireflies
In Photinus Fireflies, males create a spermatophore that is rich in nutrients and costly to produce. The mass of this spermatophore declines after each one is subsequently produced, and male mating success also declines. Females use the nutrients from the spermatophore to produce more eggs.

Fire-colored Beetle
Male Neopyrochroa flabellata ingest cantharidin, a fatty substance, and transfer it to females through the spermatophore during copulation. Females then use this cantharidin to protect their eggs, as eggs sired by cantharidin-fed males are significantly less likely to be eaten by predators than eggs that were not protected by cantharidin.

Bushcrickets
The spermatophore provides protection to the ampulla by preventing it from being removed prematurely. It is also hypothesized to provide direct nutritional benefit to the offspring through the paternal investment hypothesis.

Deceptive Strategies
Since nuptial gifts increase the chance of a successful mating event, but can be costly in time and resources for organisms to produce, some will resort to "cheating" behaviors by intentionally providing a potential mate with a non-beneficial nuptial gift that appears to be beneficial. This allows the “cheating” organism to have a chance at copulating without incurring the costs associated with creating a real nuptial gift for their mate. Various strategies of cheating have been observed in the wild and in controlled settings.

Male Pisaura mirabilis spiders will change the amount of silk used to wrap their nuptial gifts and conceal its contents, depending upon whether it is a "beneficial" or "useless" gift, with more silk being used on "useless" nuptial gifts. This behavior is even present in males with limited resources.

Another explanation for why males cover their nuptial gift with silk may be that it makes the gift resemble the female’s egg sac. This would mean the nuptial gift is functioning as a sensory trap. Female Pisaura mirabilis spiders have been shown to pick up nuptial gifts more quickly if they more closely resembled their egg sac.

Male spiders have been observed stealing prey from another male’s web, and then presenting it to a receptive female before mating. The male will then mate with the female while she consumes the prey. This cheating strategy decreases the male’s energetic investment in foraging while still giving them an opportunity to mate.