# Egg laying mantis becomes food for another mantis



## Rick (Oct 27, 2007)

Today found this female chinese eating another female chinese. About a foot away I found an ooth that had just been started. It was obvious because the ooth had eggs exposed and was still soft and white in color. I think she was laying her eggs when she got ambushed by this other mantis who then ate her.


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## Kruszakus (Oct 27, 2007)

Wow! That is sick! A female eating a female... speechless...


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## Mantida (Oct 27, 2007)

Life in the making was cut short by nature.  :mellow: 

Did you take the ooth or leave it?


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## Rick (Oct 27, 2007)

mantida said:


> Life in the making was cut short by nature.  :mellow: Did you take the ooth or leave it?


Left it. It was not finished and I don't keep chinese ooths. I find them all the time out there.


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## yen_saw (Oct 27, 2007)

Brutal.....

I had a cannibalism recently but in captivity, the adult male _P. Wahlbergii _decided to have his mate's head for dinner, and it appear to have been this way for couple of days :blink: and female is alive still.











So without wasting the headless female, i let one of my shield mantis female finish up the headless female PW.


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## hibiscusmile (Oct 27, 2007)

That's just great using her head Yen :lol:


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## Mantida (Oct 27, 2007)

Geez, I've never seen a male go for a female like that during mating. :blink:


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## Precious (Oct 27, 2007)

That is so cool Rick. What are the odds? It's so Nat Geo! Think about it (I'm sure you have) the female is eliminating the competition, improving the odds for her offspring. Cool.

And Yen...charming, just charming.


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## yen_saw (Oct 27, 2007)

hibiscusmile said:


> That's just great using her head Yen :lol:


  :lol: 



mantida said:


> Geez, I've never seen a male go for a female like that during mating. :blink:


To be honest, this is the first time i have let a male killed a female...shame on me!! But i have two witness mating of this species recently, so i am not too worry losing this one.



Precious said:


> That is so cool Rick. What are the odds? It's so Nat Geo! Think about it (I'm sure you have) the female is eliminating the competition, improving the odds for her offspring. Cool.And Yen...charming, just charming.


My guess is that female was just unlucky to be in the wrong place and wrong time, but in a place with high density of mantis population, cannibalism of any species under any condition is not uncommon. I have seen green anole taking down a large nymph of carolina mantis, and also seen a large stick mantis taking down an adult male grass mantis. Is a wild wild world out there :blink:


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## Rick (Oct 27, 2007)

Both are very strange things to happen.


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## spawn (Oct 27, 2007)

Maybe a stupid question, but you said the whalbergii female was still alive during the mating/assault? Was she able to lay while headless?


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## yen_saw (Oct 28, 2007)

The male was on her back but i didn't see them connected. ANyway, don't think she will be able to lay the ooth eventhough she was still alive then (headless).


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## asdsdf (Oct 28, 2007)

Yen, finally, the males are striking back!!! :lol:


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## hibiscusmile (Oct 28, 2007)

asdsdf said:


> Yen, finally, the males are striking back!!! :lol:


Yea  and if they all do that, we will quickly have no more mantis &lt;_&lt;


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## Kruszakus (Oct 28, 2007)

Way to go Yen, you used your head! Or rather its head... hehehehe


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## robo mantis (Oct 29, 2007)

You have lots more than by me!


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## joossa (Oct 29, 2007)

Very nice, rare moments!


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