Chivalry is not dead among male crickets as they prioritize the lives of their mating partners ahead of their own, researchers have found.

Researchers monitored a wild population of field crickets (Gryllus campestris) in Spain using ninety-six infrared cameras and microphones, and found that male crickets give their female partners priority access to the safety of a burrow.

Males were found so eager to protect their female partners from predation that they were four times more likely to die in fight than if they lived alone.

University of Exeter's Rolando Rodriguez-Munoz, who carried out the study, said that the research showed that "chivalrous" behavior wasn't only a human trait.

Speaking on the topic, Rodriguez-Munoz said, "We show that even males of small insects, which we would not define as intelligent or affective, can be 'chivalrous' or protective with their partners."

The findings go against the common perception that males' guarding behaviour is an attempt to manipulate female crickets and prevent them from mating with rivals.

The research published in the most recent issue of journal Current Biology.