The most obvious explanation for creatures expending precious energy on an extreme body part that does not offer a clear survival advantage is sexual selection. But both male and female matador bugs have big red flags, and even sexually immature nymphs have red flags of their own. In 2022, Rubin, Somjee, and colleagues concluded that the bug's fancy legs likely had little to do with sex.
Perhaps the legs were a colorful diversion to help the bugs escape. Matador bugs are known to shear off their own their hind legs in an instant-a deflection mechanism that protects the insect's more precious body parts, explains Zachary Emberts, a behavioral...
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