for National Geographic News Ladies: If you're looking for
diamonds on Valentine's Day, be careful that your beau isn't
giving out fakes. Scientists have found that, even in the animal
kingdom, males hand out so-called nuptial gifts that seem to be
worthless. Nuptial gift giving is a well-known phenomenon. Gifts
frequently consist of food like nutritious prey items or dried
insect fragments. The female typically eats her gift while
copulation takes place. - Females Seek Multiple "Valentines" in
Some Species - "Sexually Antagonistic" Bugs Evolve New Weapons -
Are Snails' ''Love Darts'' Source of Cupid Lore? - "Love" Birds:
Mated for Life but Bound to Cheat? - Lovebirds and Love Darts:
The Wild World of Mating - Finding a Valentine Can Be Hard for
Animals Too, Cameras Show "Insects and spiders are well known
for giving presents," said Steven Heydon, senior museum
scientist and collections manager at the Bohart Museum of
Entomology at the University of California, Davis. "Some species
always give a gift, some ne