Do Lobsters Mate For Life Like Phoebe Made Us Believe?

“Come on, guys. Lobsters are known to fall in love and mate for life. You know what, you can see old lobster couples walkin’ around their tank holding claws!”

Phoebe Buffay, Friends season two

Because of that famous quote from Phoebe Buffay, “Friends” fans have been led to believe that lobsters mate for life. Unfortunately, and according to science, a male lobster does not mate with the same female for the rest of his life! Continue reading if you want to learn more about this!

Do Lobsters Mate For Life? Explanation

Lobsters are not among the many creatures that practice long-term monogamy. According to Curt Brown, a marine biologist on staff at Ready Seafood, “lobsters are not monogamous and do not couple for life.” A dominating male lobster lives with a group of female lobsters rather than cohabiting for the rest of his life. For a week or two, he mates with each female one by one.

Female lobsters must first lose their hard shell in order to mate. As a consequence, they are particularly vulnerable to predation. Therefore, the female must move in with the male in order for him to protect her when she is more vulnerable. However, the males do not always willing to share their man caves with the females.

To get access to the male’s sanctum, the female must use seduction. The female approaches the male’s shelter and squirts urine into his home. The urine includes pheromones, which serve as a drug to attract the male and convince him to let her enter his home. As an outcome, the male becomes less violent.

The female removes its shell after she comes inside the male’s den. For up to two weeks, the pair will mate until the female’s shell hardens. Once her shell has fully reformed, she leaves the male’s house and continues on with her life, bearing fertilized eggs.

However, even then, her eggs might not be fertilized. The female can decide when the conditions are just right to fertilize her eggs. She may keep live sperm in her body for two years before fertilizing her eggs.

After a female leaves, another new female is waiting to seduce the dominant male. This is referred to as “serial monogamy.” So if any of you refer to your relationship as a lobster because you are madly in love and want to be with them forever, we really advise you to stop doing so.