My Last Male Just Got Eaten

[MandellaMandy123]

I put my last male S. limbata, Buddy, in my female Deirdre's container. Deirdre has already laid two fertile oothecae, and I was hoping she would lay a third. Well, the male locked his antennas on her and started approaching. I thought, OK, good. Then suddenly he grabbed her and tried to start eating her! (Mind you he ate six flies yesterday - he wasn't starving.) So I quickly got a hairpin and bent his head away to protect her while she ate him. What was wrong with this male mantis?

~Wolfie

 

[agent A]

so he got eaten by her afterwards?? :huh:

 

[brancsikia339]

wait the male started eating the female and then the tables turned? :huh:

 

[MandellaMandy123]

They never mated. He just started eating her... So I prevented him from doing so and she ate him...

 

[brancsikia339]

They never mated. He just started eating her... So I prevented him from doing so and she ate him...

How was he eating her? Did he actually bite?

 

[angelofdeathzz]

Had a male Idolo eat the back of the females head 2 days into mating, even though I had plenty of flies in there, she died 2 days later quite fertile so I was a bit upset to say the least. :angry: You just can never tell what will happen is the morale of the story I guess?

 

[MandellaMandy123]

Yeah, he was biting her. Now all that's left of him is a head and thorax the arms off which are grasped onto her from when he initially tried to eat her. Very gruesome, not sure what I'm going to do about that... Luckily she's not injured, but he definitely bit.

Sorry to hear about your female, Angel. That really sucks...

 

[Zapins]

He must have been a peeping Tom praying mantis and decided to do something about what he saw....