Egg laying mantis becomes food for another mantis

[Rick]

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.

 

[Kruszakus]

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

 

[Mantida]

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

Did you take the ooth or leave it?

 

[Rick]

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.

 

[yen_saw]

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.

 

[hibiscusmile]

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

 

[Mantida]

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

 

[Precious]

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.

 

[yen_saw]

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

:lol:

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.

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:

 

[Rick]

Both are very strange things to happen.

 

[spawn]

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

 

[yen_saw]

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).

 

[asdsdf]

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

 

[hibiscusmile]

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

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

 

[Kruszakus]

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

 

[robo mantis]

You have lots more than by me!

 

[joossa]

Very nice, rare moments!