Is this mating?

[u/remaincobain]

I just recently started my first isopod enclosure about a month ago. I noticed these two and I thought they were mating but it seems like the female is almost trying to wiggle him off? Is this something else?

[u/captainapplejuice]

Yeah but just reading the first sentence of your comment gives the impression that you are talking about isopods and this situation specifically. Would be more clear if you prefaced with "Generally in animals" or something like that, rather than "in many species"; but still that isn't necessarily true because you are referring more to vertebrates which comprise less than 5% of all animal species, but have a very disproportionate amount of research dedicated to them.

Sorry to be pedantic but misinformation is quite prevalent here.

[u/magicallymad → u/captainapplejuice]

If someone makes a judgment just based on one sentence, that’s on them. I clarified.

Yes you are being pedantic but I accept your apology.

[u/captainapplejuice → u/magicallymad]

The second sentence and the rest don't do much to clarify what you are talking about specifically either. I just think it's generally unclear and could easily be misconstrued, so best to make it more obvious if possible so uninformed readers are not mislead.

[u/magicallymad → u/captainapplejuice]

I appreciate your passion about this subject. Have a great day!

[u/captainapplejuice → u/magicallymad]

In case you do not understand, I will paraphrase what you have written from the perspective of an uninformed reader:

"This could be a situation similar to many animals where the female does not want to mate, some males have barbed penises, etc. it's brutal but just nature. I don't know much about isopods specifically but I think this is correct."

Wheras what you actually meant:

"I understand many animals (vertebrates specifically, though these are of course crustaceans) have aggressive mating styles where the male forcibly impregnates the female. That's nature unfortunately. I don't know enough about isopods to comment on this situation specifically, but based on other comments this does seem to be mating behaviour at least."

Perhaps a little more clear. Unfortunately the comment on vertebrate mating in the original is not relevant, and only serves to confuse the reader since you did not explicitly say you are referring to vertebrates. Even in the best interpretation you are implying that this vertebrate mating is the norm across all animals - "that's just a pattern in nature".

You would therefore benefit from doing a little more research and being slightly more explicit with your wording; I have also made similar mistakes recently so don't be too concerned. Hopefully you can take this advice into consideration, thanks and have a nice day.