I believe that Pat Bateson called this sneaky behavior "mate-stealing," or "kleptogamy" (as opposed to monogamy, polygyny, polyandry, etc.). There is another common term for it in the animal behavior world, but I can't use it on a public listserv....;-)
In some species, males "grow out" of this sneaking strategy as they get older and larger. In others, there appear to be multiple mating strategies (i.e., sneaking, territory-holding, a few others) that appear to have genetic components in that given physical and behavioral phenotypes are maintained by the same individuals throughout their lifetimes.
-Kathy Morgan Wheaton College Norton, MA 02766 kmor...@wheatonma.edu --- To make changes to your subscription contact: Bill Southerly (bsouthe...@frostburg.edu)
