Decapitated corpse mates!

[cloud jaguar]

My friend caught both a male and female s. limbata. First he thought the male was chinese but upon learning they were both s. limbatas, he fed the female a couple of grasshoppers and then placed the male with her. According to him, the female first decapitated the male (presumably he was riding on her back) and then after the decapitation, his headless corpse connected with her. This seems really odd to me. While i know males can continue to mate after being decapitated, i have never heard of males connecting AFTER being decapitated - weird huh?

 

[Katnapper]

I have heard of it, but never seen it.

 

[spicey]

One of the books that I borrowed from the library mentioned that sometimes that would indeed happen, especially if the male had not connected yet. The theory that they stated was that it was a way for nature to intervene and help out the reproduction cycle when the male either isn't interested or is unwilling to cooperate with the union. The female instinctively will decapitate him in order to copulate.

I guess it helps to prove the old adage that males can't think with both heads at the same time, if one is missing, the other takes over....

 

[Ntsees]

It's possible. I've read it somewhere that the nerves control the males movements.

 

[PhilinYuma]

It's possible. I've read it somewhere that the nerves control the males movements.

Superfreak described the phenomenon with great economy here: http://mantidforum.net/forums/index.php?sh...c=12387&hl= post #7

 

[MantidLord]

Yeah, I posted a link on one of the threads referencing an abstract about how once the head is severed, it releases some chemical signals to the sexual organs to start "searching" for the female parts. And, unless the female overpowered him or it's not even a mantis eating him, he usually succeeds. I've even had a female attack a male and let him start mating, and then rescue him from being eaten (but that's only because he was completely frightened of her). I'll try to find the link.

ahh here we go:

http://www.biolbull.org/cgi/content/abstract/69/2/203

 

[Rick]

Yep. I had it happen last night. I have a female chinese in a net cage outsidse that had never been mated. Found a male when i went out. When I looked in on them she was eating his front end before he connected. She was pulling him off while eating so I just snipped his thorax off at the end near the legs so she couldn't reach. He connected and they mated normally.

This is why you sometimes see a dying males abdomen moving like he is trying to mate. If you take an adult male and cut his head off he will try to mate.

 

[hibiscusmile]

Hummm, works every time! :lol: No, really I do it all the time, if his head is missing and I find him in the cage, I always place him on a female, if he can hold on and not to weak, mating takes place.

 

[elf run1]

One of the books that I borrowed from the library mentioned that sometimes that would indeed happen, especially if the male had not connected yet. The theory that they stated was that it was a way for nature to intervene and help out the reproduction cycle when the male either isn't interested or is unwilling to cooperate with the union. The female instinctively will decapitate him in order to copulate. I guess it helps to prove the old adage that males can't think with both heads at the same time, if one is missing, the other takes over....

lol!..............well back on topic i guess that just goes to show how awsome mantises are =)

 

[kamakiri]

Seems to be a popular subject lately! It sure does seem strange, but I suppose the mechanism for mating has evolved to work that way.

 

[Boxer_Bug]

One of the books that I borrowed from the library mentioned that sometimes that would indeed happen, especially if the male had not connected yet. The theory that they stated was that it was a way for nature to intervene and help out the reproduction cycle when the male either isn't interested or is unwilling to cooperate with the union. The female instinctively will decapitate him in order to copulate. I guess it helps to prove the old adage that males can't think with both heads at the same time, if one is missing, the other takes over....

lol. males can't think with both heads at the same time. ya that sucks for us males.

we so dumb..lol.

ya that odd and kinda spooky well if it work.