When Pope Gelasius of Rome declared February 14 to be St. Valentine's Day about 1,500 years ago, he probably didn't know about the surprisingly romantic acrobatics of the gold swift moth (Phymatopus hecta).

The impressive species, native to northern Europe and Asia, has the most elaborate mating system so far known in insects.

Not only does the moth choose from several courtship strategies, the flexible critter also employs various sexual positions, offering up a sort of Kama Sutra for bugs.

According to biologist John R. G. Turner of the U.K.'s University of Leeds, most moth species have a very simple mating method that lacks any real courtship.

"Females stay perched where they are [after emerging from the cocoon],