Cricket Cost-Benefit

The Friday File: Despite the added risk of becoming bird food, male crickets gallantly give their mates priority in crawling into safe burrows. In a recent issue of Current Biology, researchers found paired males were 3.9 times more likely to be eaten than unpaired males; mated females were 5.6 times less likely of being snack food than single females. Why? Chivalrous behavior means more matings and more progeny. Clearly, these critters do cost–benefit analysis!