Beruflich Dokumente
Kultur Dokumente
Sexual cannibalism is the act of a female consuming a male during mating. It is a method
commonly used in arachnids and occurs in some species of praying mantis. The female mantids
have an adaptive tradeoff between mating and consuming their male mates to benefit the
production of their eggs. This is a look at a few major aspects of sexual cannibalism in some
species of praying mantis to get a better understanding of how it works.
Does it work?
High
Medium
Low
Diet Type
1.4
1.2
1
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0
An experiment was performed on females of the species Mantis religiosa to show the relationship between
moulting/maturity and cannibalism. Females moulting earlier in the season are bigger, but less healthy, and
females moulting later are smaller, but healthier. Each group had 13 females, and the results show a relationship
between the health of the females and their willingness to consume mates.
Moulting/Maturity vs Cannibalism
9
8
7
# of occurences
Early
Late
5
4
3
2
1
0
Mating with
cannibalism
Mating
without
cannibalism
Cannibalism
without
mating
No
cannibalism
or mating
Consent or conflict?
An experiment was performed on mantids in the species Mantis religiosa to see if males assess the level of risk
of being eaten by their female mates. Two situations were recorded: one measuring the speed of male mounting
females while a prey item was offered to the females, the other measuring the speed of mounting without a prey
item offered to the females. The results suggest strong levels of risk avoidance being practiced by males.
5
4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
Preying Female
5
4.5
4
3.5
3
2.5
2
1.5
1
0.5
0
Female After Preying
Non-preying Female
Intensity of Courtship
100
60
Satiated
Starved
50
40
30
20
10
0
Head-On
From Behind
70
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Satiated
Starved
Material:
Sexual cannibalism in the praying mantis hierodula membranacea. T.R Birkhead, K.E Lee, P. Young. Behavior, 1988, Volume 106, Issue 1
Seasonal aspects of sexual cannibalism in the praying mantis mantis religiosa. P. Prokop, R. Vaclav. Journal of Ethology, May 2008, Volume 25, Issue 2
Sexual approach in the praying mantid mantis religiosa. C. Gemeno, J. Claramunt. Journal of Insect Behavior, Nov 2006, Volume 19, Issue 6
Complicity or conflict over sexual cannibalism? male risk taking in the praying mantis tenodera aridifolia sinensis. The American Naturalist, Aug 2006, Volume 168, Issue 2
Images:
Non-liscenced, Reptile Forums, 2008
Non-liscenced, Wikimedia Commons, O. Kommerling, Sep 2007
Charts:
Created
Anthony Pepi