The risk of sexual cannibalism and its effect on male approach and mating behaviour in a praying mantid

Jayaweera, Anuradhi; Rathnayake, Darshana N.; Davis, Kaytlyn S.; Barry, Katherine L.

doi:10.1016/j.anbehav.2015.09.021

Cited by 15 publications

(4 citation statements)

References 32 publications

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“…Risk assessment by males in praying mantids has been studied in different species (Brown et al, 2012;Jayaweera et al, 2015;Scardamaglia et al, 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Males choose to keep their heads: Preference for lower risk females in a praying mantid

Avigliano

Scardamaglia

Gabelli

et al. 2016

Behavioural Processes

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“…Risk assessment by males in praying mantids has been studied in different species (Brown et al, 2012;Jayaweera et al, 2015;Scardamaglia et al, 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Males choose to keep their heads: Preference for lower risk females in a praying mantid

Avigliano

Scardamaglia

Gabelli

et al. 2016

Behavioural Processes

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“…However, in face-to-face encounters, males lifted and bent their abdomens, which may be a form of courtship. Male courtship frequency was inconsistent, which we would expect if males adjust their behaviors in ways that minimize the chance of being attacked (Jayaweera et al 2015).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…These two types are interconnected. A higher likelihood of sexual cannibalism can increase the rate of courtship and, consequently, courting decreases the probability of sexual cannibalism (Maxwell 1998, Lelito and Brown 2006, Barry et al 2008b, Jayaweera et al 2015, Kadoi et al 2017. The structure of courtship and the frequency of sexual cannibalism were the subjects of a few research studies (Edmunds 1975, Loxton 1979, Liske and Davis 1987, Battiston 2008.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Mating behavior of the Persian boxer mantid, Holaptilon brevipugilis (Mantodea: Mantidae)

Kolnegari¹

2020

JOR

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The Persian boxer mantid, Holaptilon brevipugilis, is the mantid most recently described from Iran. Here, I present some aspects of the courtship display and mating behavior of this species. I conducted 28 mating trials, quantified the relative frequency of all mating behaviors, and estimated the pre-copulation, copulation, and post-copulation periods. I also compared the effects of frontal vs. lateral approaches of the male for mating success, since frontal approach increases the risk that the male will be seen and cannibalized by the female. In 64% of trials, the male approached the female immediately, regardless of whether the female could see him or not. Copulation was successful in 61% of trials. Male courtship consisted of dorsoventral bending of the male’s abdomen and occurred in 10% of all trials, but only when the female was facing the male. In contrast, trembling of the forelimbs was not associated with copulation, occurred in 10% of all trials, and was always followed by the male moving away from the female. I observed one female cannibalizing a male post-copulation. The Persian boxer mantid might be sexually cannibalistic, but confirming this hypothesis would require further studies, including a focus on female hunger level as a determining factor in sexual cannibalism and in male courtship behaviors.

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“…Rather than responding with coercion, however, males typically employ cautious strategies to secure matings and avoid cannibalism [10]. Putative examples of such strategies include males using stealth during mating approaches [11][12][13][14], courting females with a decoy nuptial gift [15], playing dead when females attack [16,17], and preferentially mating with females that are feeding [18][19][20] or moulting [21,22]. Rare examples of males mating coercively rather than cautiously can be found in some sexually cannibalistic spiders, where courting males immobilize females for mating by biting them [23], injecting them with venom [24], emitting airborne chemicals [25], or tying them up with silk [26].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Male coercion and female injury in a sexually cannibalistic mantis

Burke

Holwell

2021

Biol. Lett.

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Sexual conflict can generate coercive traits in males that enhance mating success at the expense of female fitness. Pre-copulatory sexual cannibalism—where females consume males without mating—typically favours cautious rather than coercive mating tactics, and few examples of the latter are known. Here, we show that males of the highly cannibalistic springbok mantis, Miomantis caffra , wrestle females during pre-mating interactions. We find that most initial contacts between males and females involve a violent struggle whereby each sex tries be the first to grasp hold of the other with their raptorial forelegs. When females win the struggle, they always cannibalize males. However, when males grasp females first, they dramatically increase the chance of mating. We also find striking evidence that, on some occasions, males wound females with their fore-tibial claws during struggles, resulting in haemolymph loss and scar tissue formation. Taken together, our results show how males can overcome the threat of cannibalism by coercively wrestling females. We argue that pre-copulatory injury in this species is likely to be a negative pleiotropic side-effect of coercive mating behaviour and foraging morphology.

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The risk of sexual cannibalism and its effect on male approach and mating behaviour in a praying mantid

Cited by 15 publications

References 32 publications

Males choose to keep their heads: Preference for lower risk females in a praying mantid

Males choose to keep their heads: Preference for lower risk females in a praying mantid

Mating behavior of the Persian boxer mantid, Holaptilon brevipugilis (Mantodea: Mantidae)

Male coercion and female injury in a sexually cannibalistic mantis

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