Battle of the Sexes

Battle of the Sexes

Today, in my backyard, I stumbled upon two snails seemingly engrossed in devouring a rotting mango. However, upon closer inspection, I discovered they were engaging in a fascinating ritual of touch, taste, and scent—a unique method of seeking consent before mating, a skill that some humans could certainly learn from.”

Being hermaphrodites, these snails possess both male and female reproductive organs, allowing them to self-fertilise if needed. Yet, they seem to understand that the pleasure of sex is heightened when shared with another.

As the snails intertwined, they exchanged a curious ‘love dart,’ a prelude to the exchange of sperm through their everted atrium, colloquially known as the ‘snail penis.’ Observing this intricate dance, I couldn’t help but marvel at nature’s complexity.

After witnessing this intimate moment, I respectfully left them to continue their courtship. Yet, I couldn’t shake the thought that the battle of the sexes had just begun. Once sperm exchange occurs, the snails’ bodies enter a defensive mode, each striving to be a partially involved father rather than a full-time mother.

In this delicate dance of reproduction, the love dart emerges as a crucial player. The snail who delivers the most precise shot during the dart’s deployment stands a better chance of becoming a father. The hormones secreted by the love dart aid in protecting the exchanged sperm from destruction, thus enhancing the likelihood of fertilisation.