[throwaway0255]

I love the last sentence of the article:

> Adult females are known to eat their mating partners after sex.

Just thought they'd throw that one in before signing off! But I do suppose a writer would be remiss not to remind you of that fact given the opportunity.

And a fascinating comment (which I haven't confirmed yet) from a reader below the article:

> Sigh, females HAVE to eat the head of the male to remove the inhibition stopping him from climaxing. > > It doesn't happen AFTER sex, it is required for the sex to be successful in terms of conception.

I never knew that. This behavior has only ever been explained to me as some kind of vindictive or inexplicable act by the female mantis.

I wonder how the female mantis knows that this is a way to disinhibit the male's climax?? Nature can be so strange.

[phyzome]

That's wrong, they don't have to do it. But it sure does help if they're not otherwise getting enough to eat!

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mantis#Sexual_cannibalism

Apparently it happens more often under laboratory conditions than in the wild.

[brennebeck]

> Early researchers thought that because copulatory movement is controlled by a ganglion in the abdomen, not the head, removal of the male's head was a reproductive strategy by females to enhance fertilization while obtaining sustenance. Later, this behavior appeared to be an artifact of intrusive laboratory observation. Whether the behavior is natural in the field or also the result of distractions caused by the human observer remains controversial.

[gammateam]

Pullout game so strong that females have to turn you into a vegetable to make sure you impregnate them

[daveFNbuck]

If this is true, she doesn't have to know why she's doing it. If there's a genetic variation that causes this behavior and enough of an advantage to doing it, that's what natural selection will favor.

[brennebeck]

Still controversial: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=18049366