Mantis is a fairly common insect, well known to many people. Surely, you also had to pay attention to this rather large creature at least once in your life, perhaps even observe its behavior. Our article will talk about the most unusual behavioral feature of praying mantises, namely why the female kills and eats the male immediately after mating or even during it.
Aggressive Predator
Absolutely all types of praying mantises are predators and excellent hunters. Their movements are precise and deadly. A praying mantis can attack not only an insect that is inferior to it in strength and size, but also a larger victim, for example, a snake, lizard or bird. Fights between relatives are also not uncommon, and the battles of praying mantises, as a rule, end in the death of one of the rivals.
It is also widely known that even mating ends in a deadly fight. Scientists are currently putting forward several versions explaining the fact of killing and eating males by females, but research does not stop. Let's take a look at these versions.
Death for life
Entomologists have long noticed that after the death of the praying mantis,for some time it continues to move: it can run away, hide, and even pretend to be dead (it is not entirely clear what causes the latter phenomenon; it is probably part of a lifelong self-preservation mechanism that does not go out immediately after death). In any case, at the moment of agony and immediately after the onset of death, motor activity persists for some time and even increases.
This is one of the assumptions that explain why the female mantis kills the male during mating. The decapitated body begins to move faster, the release of sperm increases. Thus, the female receives a larger portion of seminal fluid, due to which more eggs are fertilized.
This version has a weak point: the kill does not always occur during mating, often the female praying mantis waits a few seconds after the act before making a deadly throw.
Protein source
Regardless of the moment of killing, the female praying mantis eats the male after mating. The head goes first. Researchers believe that this is due to the high protein content necessary for future offspring. It turns out that the female is driven by maternal instinct? She just wants to give the kids everything they need and chooses the easiest way for this.
Having finished with the head, the female usually proceeds to the next meal: there are also a lot of useful and nutritious substances in the body.
Huntress Instinct
There is an assumption that the female praying mantis eats a partner due to an overdevelopedhunting instinct. She just sees him as a victim. Romantic feelings are alien to insects, but they love to eat tightly. Why not seize the moment and devour the defenseless victim?
By the way, we note that these insects have a well-developed sexual dimorphism. The photo shows that the male is smaller than the female, and his front legs are much thinner and not at all as powerful. In a fight, he has no chance, and she understands this very well.
Which version is correct? Probably the truth is somewhere in the middle. It is quite possible that the behavior of the female is influenced by a combination of several factors due to the most important instincts: procreation and self-preservation. More seminal fluid is needed to give life to more children. For future babies to develop well, protein is needed. And to survive on her own, she needs food.
Egg laying
What happens next? After mating, the female praying mantis lays from one to three hundred eggs. It covers the masonry with a special adhesive liquid, which soon hardens, forming a kind of capsule - ootheca. Inside, the optimum level of humidity and temperature is maintained.
Praying mantis mating takes place in August. In some warm climate regions, the incubation period rarely lasts longer than a month. And in temperate latitudes, the masonry hibernates before the onset of heat.
The emerging larvae get out of the ootheca and begin an independent life. The mother does not take part in feeding and protecting offspring,well, and the father, moreover, does not have such an opportunity.
Chance for life
Surely the reader interested in insect life is wondering if the male praying mantis has any chance of being saved. In fact, the statistics are not so sad. Researchers observing these creatures have calculated that female praying mantises kill and eat males after mating only half the time.
One can be glad for the male part of the praying mantis population, but this does not bring us closer to revealing the secret. On the contrary, the understanding that only 50% of matings end in the death of a partner raises even more questions. So killing isn't necessary? By mating with a live male, does the female get enough seminal fluid to keep the population out of danger? Valuable protein for future babies is not so important? And a female exhausted after copulation does not die of hunger at all if she does not immediately bite off her partner's head?
In search of answers to all questions, scientists have noticed several interesting features. First, it has been established that mating is always initiated by the male. Secondly, it was noticed that well-fed females are much less likely to attack partners. They are generally lazy and not too mobile (the process of digesting food in these insects is quite long). However, it is the hungry ones that seem much more attractive to males. A female that has not eaten for a long time can even cause a fight between several praying mantises ready for mating. Scientists have also determined that if the male was not killedduring copulation, he often tries to sneak back unnoticed until the partner rushed at him. And a group of researchers who observed the behavior of these insects in South America managed to find another unusual detail - it turns out that males of some species precede copulation with a kind of dance. Perhaps this is how they expect to win the favor of the chosen one and stay alive.
Let's dispel another myth related to the reproduction of praying mantises. Some wildlife lovers mistakenly believe that absolutely all species differ in such sexual behavior. This is far from true. Currently, about 2000 species of these insects are known to science, but not everyone is characterized by cannibalism. However, there is something in common: the male always tries to sneak up behind, wanting not to catch the eye of the chosen one.
Danger to humans
Can this aggressive insect attack a person? Praying mantises look intimidating, which is why many consider them dangerous. But entomologists assure that these creatures do not pose any threat to us.
And therefore, having met this amazing insect in your garden, never frighten or offend him. It will not attack you and will even be useful: a voracious predator will perfectly protect your plants from garden pests.
