So the females bite the heads off the males, and later the whole body, but the male’s body finds it’s mating spot and continues to mate for hours
Attenborough describes as hormones and enzymes being responsible, and that the female derives much energy from this exchange resulting in more eggs, but why are they driven to do so?
What selection pressures would select for this? There are other insect species that don’t need to consume their partner, nor do they need the extra energy. The male being able to mate after being headless would also have been selected for? I don’t understand why this would be the case
In: Biology
I did time as a fire ant (S. invicta) researcher. Not the same, but fire ant and some other ant species only use males for a short time, they fly high in the air, copulate, and fall to the ground dead while the females become queens. You can find them on the ground looking for a colony spot in the hot summer a day after it rains.
I would think maybe the praying mantis is the same way, where a male is alive much longer, but has the same eventual function as a male fire ant: copulate and then it’s job done. I would figure single use means that you don’t have to have sperm constantly being made, and the sex organs could be in a dormant state, all until it’s time. This would make for a lighter, leaner hunter. Praying mantises are carnivores.
Here’s a short encyclopedia article on the subject unrelated to anything I said: https://www.britannica.com/list/6-animals-that-eat-their-mates
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