Jiminy Cricket may not actually hold the door open for his lady friends, but he can still be _____1_____ : researchers from the University of Exeter discovered that when threatened by predators, a male field cricket will protect his mate by letting her enter their burrow first. The work is published in the journal Current Biology.

Using microphones and _____2_____ cameras, researchers monitored a Spanish cricket population for three seasons. They identified each cricket with a tiny numbered nametag and a DNA fingerprint taken from a sample of its leg. This Big Brother _____3_____ revealed the details of cricket relationships, from their courtship time to how they conducted their affairs.

Previous studies of crickets’ behavior examined them in a lab setting, where males acted aggressively towards other males and mates alike. In the wild, however, males still brawled with rivals. But they formed long-term relationships by protecting, not _____4_____, their partners.

So why guard his gal? A gentlemanly cricket fosters a longer relationship, with more mating and more offspring. So chivalry may not be dead—but it’s not entirely altruistic either.
【視聽版科學小組榮譽出品】