Scientists have discovered a rare mating ritual that all but guarantees a male sagebrush cricket won't ever have enough energy for another.

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McMaster University psychologist Andrew Clark, who studied the crickets with researchers from Illinois State University said the males woo the females by offering their hind wing to bite on.

In fact, once coupled, the female chews the ends of the wings off and eats the fluid emitted.

The study found the majority of males are so weakened by the experience, they never mate again, which Clark described as classic sexual exhaustion.

However, it doesn't speak highly of the males' performances.

"The primary benefit to males appears to be that wing feeding keeps the female occupied during the time it takes the male to transfer the sperm," Clark said.