Shadowing Practice: 5 Gross Gifts Animals Give Their Mates - Learn English Speaking with Video
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Thanks to Brilliant for supporting this episode of SciShow.
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Go to Brilliant .org slash SciShow to get 20 % off an annual premium subscription for yourself or someone else.
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Humans have some odd customs around gift -giving and courtship.
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I mean, chocolate is this one specific tropical bean that's been fermented, roasted, and mixed with sugar.
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But on a date, it tends to go over pretty well.
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However, humans aren't the only ones who bring gifts to a potential mate.
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Gift -giving is a behavior that occurs in many species across the animal kingdom.
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And these gifts do more than make a good first impression.
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They generally provide substantial benefits that ensure a better outcome for the pair's offspring.
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But the gifts themselves can be, well, chocolate they ain't.
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So from poison to mucus and a few bodily fluids in between, let's explore a few creatures who take gift -giving to a whole new level.
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Six -spot burnet moths bestow upon their potential mate a toxic gift—actual poison.
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These critters have a deadly talent that develops when they're just a wee caterpillar.
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They're able to produce hydrogen cyanide, a chemical that, in high enough concentrations, can even be deadly to a potential predator.
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These critters incorporate some of the toxins that plants make as a chemical defense against pests, and their bodies convert them into hydrogen cyanide.
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This chemical causes them to have an unpleasant taste, so predators tend to steer clear.
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The red spots on the moths' bodies serve as a warning sign to keep away.
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And during the mating process, the male moths are able to transfer some of their cyanide to the females.
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Not to kill them, mind you.
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Instead, researchers believe they are passing it along for additional protection against potential predators.
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This gift is like the insect equivalent of gifting a couple dozen roses,
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because the process of creating the cyanide is fairly energetically costly for the moths.
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Female moths are capable of producing cyanide too and actually emit plumes of it to attract a mate,
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but the males still gift them a little extra during courtship,
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which allows the females to put their energy into laying eggs while keeping their defenses up.
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The female also uses some of that poison to coat her eggs with as an added layer of protection against potential predators.
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And researchers have found that the females value how much cyanide is gifted to them,
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preferentially choosing a male based on how large his cyanide gift was.
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Which may mean that these moths are becoming more toxic over time, as the females are constantly selecting for large cyanide gifts.
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Now, the red velvet mite goes to great lengths to woo a mate.
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The male doesn't just bring a gift, he builds a beautiful, intricate space for his potential mate.
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And this little mite creates an elaborate setup out of sticks, leaves, grass, and sperm.
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Researchers tactfully refer to this as a love garden.
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The sperm is dotted all over the sticks and grass,
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acting as both decoration and a sticky web holding all of the pieces of the meticulously designed space together.
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Once constructed, the male leaves an intricate path of silk leading up to the space for a mate to find.
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Then he sits in front of his masterpiece until a potential mate wanders by and notices his handiwork.
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And when a potential mate does come along,
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the male will perform a little dance in front of the space as a way of capturing her attention
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and enticing her into coming closer.
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And if the female mite is intrigued, she will enter the garden he's created to investigate the space further.
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If the female sits down in that space, the sperm can impregnate her.
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Unfortunately, the competition for a mate can be stiff among mites.
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That same trail he wove for his mate to find can be discovered by another male instead.
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The other male will immediately tear down the garden and build up his own in its place,
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as a way of ensuring that it's his sperm that contributes to the next generation.
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So red velvet mites have to be fancy and quick in order to catch a female before the competition swoops in.
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Now, it does make sense for sperm to be involved during courtship, but that's far from the only bodily fluid on offer.
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For example, some creatures will offer up their own blood to their mates during the mating process.
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Ground crickets give their mates access to their blood, or rather their hemolymph, which is the insect equivalent of blood.
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Male ground crickets have evolved large spurs on their tibia for female ground crickets to chew on during mating.
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That gives the female access to the male's hemolymph in the process.
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Researchers believe that this gift provides specialized nutrition to the females, who gain access to nutrients that they might otherwise be lacking in their diets,
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including protein, fats, and carbohydrates.
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This comes in handy for the female, particularly during egg -laying, which is energetically costly.
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In fact, researchers have found that female ground crickets have a preference for large males over smaller ones, because the larger the male,
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the more hemolymph a female can get from his spur during mating.
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While it's likely this is not really a very pleasant experience for the male, it's a sacrifice that makes sense for the survival of his offspring,
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because a well -fed female will have more energy to put towards high -quality eggs.
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As a result, much like the burnet moths are selecting more poisonous mates,
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the female ground crickets are shifting the size of the overall population towards larger males.
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Now, a gift of blood might be too much of a sacrifice to make, so how about some spit instead?
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While hocking up a big loogie in front of a date is typically considered bad form among humans,
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that's pretty much what male scorpionflies will do for their potential mates.
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Scorpion fly males have evolved enlarged salivary glands, specifically for the ability to produce large balls of spit.
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Interestingly, only well -fed scorpion flies have the ability to produce spit balls.
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Those that are malnourished will choose to offer up a dead bug instead.
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Now, if you ask me, either of these gifts sounds less than appealing, but researchers believe that much like our cricket example,
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scorpion flies offer spit to provide the females with additional nutrients prior to egg -laying.
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Which is why a dead bug proves to be a decent substitute for a giant ball of spit
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if a male is unable to produce any spit himself.
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The female snacks on the spit during the mating process, which ensures she's well -fed enough to pass the male's genes along to the next generation.
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And sometimes, whether they can't make spit or just want to avoid making it in the first place,
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male scorpionflies will pretend to be females and steal the spit snack right out from under a competitor.
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The females select a mate based on their ability to produce a lot of spit it.
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The more spit, the more likely they are to prefer that individual.
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And I say cheers to that.
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Now, our next animal has quite a pointed way of interacting with its mate.
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Mutual stabbing, with a snot -coated dagger.
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While this sounds awful, this is a behavior frequently observed in land snails.
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And this isn't just a gentle poke.
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Researchers have observed snails retracting rapidly after being stabbed, suggesting that this is a fairly painful process.
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Yet it's a behavior that they frequently frequently perform during mating.
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Most land snails are hermaphrodites, which means they have both sperm and egg -producing reproductive organs.
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And during the mating process, some species of snails will stab each other with what researchers refer to as love darts.
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These love darts are made up of a hard piece that makes them sharp and dagger -like, and they're also coated in mucus.
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The hard part can be made up of a few different compounds, depending on the species of snail.
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Some use calcium carbonate, while others use a more flexible material like chitin or cartilage.
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Now, these darts are not to be confused with a penis.
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Each snail has one of those, too.
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And the snails can mate without the love darts.
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Once they use the dart, the snails need some time to regrow it, sometimes taking up to a week to generate another one.
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But researchers have found
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that snails who mated shortly after being stabbed by a love
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dart were twice as likely to sire offspring as those who weren't stabbed.
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So scientists believe the love darts are a way to encourage successful reproduction.
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The mucus on the darts contains a pheromone -like compound that targets the snail's egg -producing organs,
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encouraging them to store the sperm they're receiving from the other snail.
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All of these gifts sound fairly unusual from a human perspective, but they're particularly interesting to consider from an evolutionary point of view.
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These unique choices for gifts play important roles in mate selection
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and have probably helped to determine the evolutionary history of these species.
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With the exception of the land snails, most of the females are actively selecting for mate that produces their preferred gift in the right size,
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shape, or quantity.
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Researchers are always eager to learn more about the process of gift -giving in creatures,
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since very little is known about how these abilities evolved and were selected for with time.
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But if you ask me, I might just stick to bringing flowers and chocolate on a date.
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That said, if you're looking for gifts for this holiday season, Brilliant is great for the relentlessly curious person in your life.
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Brilliant's online courses in math, science, engineering, and computer science are designed to help you learn through interactivity.
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It gives you the satisfaction of letting you work through problems yourself, with explanations for any time you get stuck.
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Courses are even available offline through their iOS and Android apps,
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so you or your lucky gift recipient can keep learning on the go or with a spotty internet connection.
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The first 200 people to sign up at brilliant .org .scishow can save 20 % off an annual premium subscription to Brilliant,
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which you can also apply toward a gift subscription.
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So thanks for checking them out.
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We'll be right back.
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Vocabulary and speaking notes for this lesson
This speaking lesson is built on the video “5 Gross Gifts Animals Give Their Mates”. The speaker keeps coming back to these words: gift, female, mate, male, snail. This video has 95 sentences and 1754 words to shadow. The speech runs for 8:49. The speaker talks fast, about 199 words per minute, so expect linked and reduced sounds. Only 74% of the words are among the 3,000 most common in English, so the vocabulary is demanding.
Key vocabulary in this video
15 words from the video worth learning, with pronunciation and meaning:
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| spit verb | /spɪt/ | To evacuate (saliva or another substance) from the mouth, etc. |
| snail noun | /sneɪl/ | Any of very many animals (either hermaphroditic or nonhermaphroditic), of the class Gastropoda, having a coiled shell. |
| researcher noun | /ˈɹiˌsɝ.t͡ʃɚ/ | One who researches. |
| dart noun | /dɑɹt/ | A pointed missile weapon, intended to be thrown by the hand; for example, a short lance or javelin. |
| stab verb | /stæb/ | To pierce or to wound (somebody) with a (usually pointed) tool or weapon, especially a knife or dagger. |
| select verb | /sɪˈlɛkt/ | To choose one or more elements of a set, especially a set of options. |
| coat noun | /ˈkoʊ̯t/ | An outer garment covering the upper torso and arms. |
| predator noun | /ˈpɹɛd.ə.tɚ/ | Any animal or other organism that hunts and kills other nonplant organisms (their prey), primarily for food. |
| poison noun | /ˈpɔɪ.zən/ | A substance that is harmful or lethal to a living organism when ingested. |
| subscription noun | /səbˈskɹɪpʃən/ | Access to a resource for a period of time, generally for payment. |
| evolve verb | /ɪˈvɑlv/ | To move (something) in regular procession through a system. |
| offspring noun | /ˈɔfspɹɪŋ/ | A person's daughter or son; a person's child. |
| dagger noun | /ˈdæɡɚ/ | A stabbing weapon, similar to a sword but with a short, double-edged blade. |
| encourage verb | /ɪnˈkʌɹ.ɪd͡ʒ/ | To mentally support; to motivate, give courage, hope or spirit. |
| refer verb | /ɹɪˈfɜː/ | To direct the attention of (someone toward something). |
Phrasal verbs you will hear
| Word | Pronunciation | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| build up verb | To erect; to construct. | |
| come along verb | To accompany. | |
| get off verb | To move from being on top of (something) to not being on top of it. | |
| go over verb | To look at carefully; to scrutinize; to analyze. | |
| keep away verb | To refrain from coming (near). | |
| lead up to verb | To set in motion; to act as a causal or preparatory event or sequence of events. | |
| tear down verb | /tɛə(ɹ)ˈdaʊn/ | To demolish. |
| work through verb | To get past a difficult or stressful situation by thinking or talking about it. |
Grammar in this video
The structures the speaker uses most, with the exact words from the video:
| Structure | In the video |
|---|---|
| Passive voice be + past participle — the focus is on what happens, not who does it | been fermented · is gifted · is dotted |
| Present perfect have/has + past participle — a past action that still matters now | that's been fermented · have found · have evolved |
| Relative clauses who / which + clause — extra information about a person or thing | ones who bring · hemolymph, which is · laying, which is |
Pronunciation to watch
The speaker uses 14 contractions and reduced forms, such as they're, aren't, ain't. Say them the short way, as you hear them.
- The “th” sounds: mathematics /mæθ(.ə)ˈmæt.ɪks/, moth /mɔθ/
- The “sh” and “zh” sounds: subscription /səbˈskɹɪpʃən/, evolutionary /ˌiː.vəˈluː.ʃən.ɛɹ.i/, sharp /ʃɑɹp/, shortly /ˈʃɔɹtli/, unusual /ʌnˈjuːʒ(u)əl/
- Long words — get the stress right: evolutionary /ˌiː.vəˈluː.ʃən.ɛɹ.i/, unusual /ʌnˈjuːʒ(u)əl/, explanation /ˌɛkspləˈneɪʃən/, establishment /ɪˈstæb.lɪʃ.mənt/, investigate /ɪnˈvɛs.tə.ɡeɪt/
How to practise with this video
- Listen to the whole video once without speaking and note the words you do not know.
- Start at 0.75× speed, shadow it sentence by sentence, then go back to normal speed once it feels easy.
- Record yourself and compare with the original, paying attention to words like spit, snail, researcher.
What is the Shadowing Technique?
Shadowing is a science-backed language learning technique originally developed for professional interpreter training and popularized by polyglot Dr. Alexander Arguelles. The method is simple but powerful: you listen to native English audio and immediately repeat it out loud — like a shadow following the speaker with just a 1–2 second delay. Unlike passive listening or grammar drills, shadowing forces your brain and mouth muscles to simultaneously process and reproduce real speech patterns. Research shows it significantly improves pronunciation accuracy, intonation, rhythm, connected speech, listening comprehension, and speaking fluency — making it one of the most effective methods for IELTS Speaking preparation and real-world English communication.