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by Drublic on February 6th, 2007

Drublic

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Does the female praying mantis really bite the head off of the male after mating? If so, why?

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Answers. 13 helpful answers below.

  • by AntigoneRising on February 6th, 2007

    AntigoneRising

    If the female can reach him in time, yes, she bites his head off. It sometimes happens during copulation, at which point the male's body continues to copulate and inseminate the female.

    http://artemis.austincollege.edu/acad/bio/sgoldsmith/skg_ebe/preying_mantis.htm

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  • by anonymous on February 6th, 2007

    anonymous

    Yes, to stop the snoring before it starts!

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  • by Time Lord on March 9th, 2008

    Time Lord

    It occurs almost all the time in captivity because the male hasn't got room to escape. It also happens a lot in the wild - I think it somehow ensures that all the baby mantids will only have his genes.

    On another note, the Red back spider and possibly the Black Widow female spiders also eat the males - in fact, the male commits suicide, to ensure that the female won't mate with anyone else, cause she'll be too busy eating him - but even after most of his body's been eaten he will still be mating.

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  • by mrs.ANONYMOUS on February 25th, 2007

    mrs.ANONYMOUS

    In most species of mantis the male does not release his sperm with his head intact. Eating his body also gives the female the nourishment she needs to lay eggs.

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  • by JD. on February 17th, 2007

    JD.

    in the amazing world of my bugcatcher the female praying mantis ate the males head while mating and then ate his body. i've read that one species of praying mantis has to eat the males head or else the mating won't be take effect properly. and i learnt somewhere that she usually eats the head just because she's hungry and that eating the head makes the body to ejaculate faster

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  • by CavvyBoy on February 12th, 2007

    CavvyBoy

    Yes, because now thats shes finaly given him sex once, she doesn't want to listen to him start begging for it on a regular basis.

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  • by Anonymous on February 25th, 2007

    Anonymous

    Oh, let's be honest... It's just easier for everyone this way.

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  • by LeMeThink on February 6th, 2007

    LeMeThink

    Because he sucks,

    apart from real answer by AR.

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  • by Reptar on May 16th, 2009

    Reptar

    Closest Food supply.

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  • by anicaram on May 16th, 2009

    anicaram

    We thought is was normal, we have been doing the same thing for years now. We haven't had any complaints yet.

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  • by tiger_kitten on October 23rd, 2008

    tiger_kitten

    I read that they only do that in captivity, only because the male has no place to go, escape that is. Someone said that it does happen in the wild too be very rarely.

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  • by miteb on March 9th, 2008

    miteb

    I'm always hungry after sex, aren't you?

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  • by Theby on March 9th, 2008

    Theby

    So he won't impregnate another female.

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