Is the male mantis in "Black Cat Sheriff" really eaten voluntarily?

If dating means that you might be killed, isn't that single be fragrant?

For some insects, the answer may be negative.

In the animation "Black Cat Sheriff", there was such a story: the mantis bride ate his groom on the wedding night, there was no romance of the wedding, leaving only the wreckage of one place.

Eat eaten pictures of mantis groom pictures: "Black Cat Sheriff"

After some investigations by the sheriffs, it was found that the truth was that the praying mantis groom was voluntarily eaten in order to supplement the nutrition of the praying mantis to supplement nutrition and give birth to a healthy praying mantis baby.

Seeing this, many people exclaimed that this is true? After mating, the male praying mantis is eaten by the female not only voluntarily, but it is also good for the male praying mantis?

After mating, it is a "good thing" to the male praying mantis?

For the above problem, we look at them one by one. First of all, after mating, it is more disadvantaged for male praying mantis after mating.

In "Black Cat Sheriff", this question has actually answered this question: Female praying mantis eats her partner after mating to supplement nutrition. So is this answer scientific basis?

This is explained in biology. This behavior is called "Sexual Cannibalism". In fact, it is not only a prayer.

t Ferry Mantis Eats his own partner picture source after mating: Australiangeographic.com.au

According to a research paper published in the Royal Journal of the UK, from the perspective of evolution, the behavior of female praying mantis eating male mantis may really be beneficial to male.

In order to prove the saying that "I am good for me", scientists feed a group of puppets with radioactive labels as food, so that each praying mantis can be tracked separately through this specific label.

Then they let the male mantis and female mantis mating. After mating, scientific researchers allow half of the female mantis to eat their partners, and the other half of the female praying mantis will be interrupted by them when predating male praying mantis.

Thanks to the nutrition obtained by eating the partner, the female who eats the spouse has 51 eggs than the average female who did not eat the spouse.

Not only that, through radioactive labels, scientists can also understand how many substances in the praying mantis eggs come from the male praying mantis, and the results are very interesting. The female eggs that eat the spouse contain more male sources and other nutrients.

Comparison of the number of female praying mantis who eat and not eat the spouse.

From this point of view, the black cat sheriff does not deceive me! The eaten male praying mantis can really provide more nutrients for female praying mantis.

Although it is beneficial, the male mantis may not have no complaints

Now that the explanation of nutrition is highly probably correct, the praying mantis groom is willing to be eaten, is it definitely true?

Not to mention, this is really not necessarily.

Although "sincere life is valuable and the price of love is higher", the creatures in the world who can be willing to die for love in the world will not have a lot of thoughts. Although the male mantis is eaten, it may not have no complaints.

"Black Cat Sheriff" in the sources of the suicide book of the Mantis groom: "Black Cat Sheriff"

Scientists have "rumored" in the cartoon groom's "I am willing" in the testament.

In 2021, a study published in "Biological Communication" made us see the unknown side of the male praying mantis during the mating process. In order to survive after mating, the male praying mantis would even fight with the female.

The male praying mantis is fighting with the female praying mantis Source: References 2

Researchers from the University of Auckland from New Zealand put the collected male and female mantis in a inverted plastic cup, let them matt and observe. The result was surprising that after mating, the male mantis did not become a nutritional product without complaints, but he would fight against it.

The male praying mantis in the video below is a "unlucky ghost". Although he has won the right to mating, he loses his life.

Video source: References 2 can be seen from this. The argument of the male praying mantis is not so standing as a dedication. After all, it is better to die, let alone be eaten alive.

Rest assured, the fate of the male praying mantis is not necessarily

Seeing this, everyone may be distressed by the male praying mantis, and you must worry about whether you will be eaten after marriage.

In fact, the situation of being eaten is indeed there. In order not to be eaten, the male praying mantis does exist. But what you may not know is that the fate of the male mantis is not necessarily necessary!

In the 1950s, scientists conducted experiments while controlling the female praying mantis diet, and found that under their own hunger, females would be more likely to use their objects, but if the female praying mantis before mating Then, most male praying mantis can be spared.

so…

For the male praying mantis, finding a full object is the right way!

The same category of sexual food may seem a bit cruel, but for nature, it reflects the wisdom of survival. We can only say: Uh ... I wish you!

Produced: Popular Science China

Author: EVEE (School of Life Sciences, Peking University)

Producer: China Science Popularization Expo

Edit: Wang Tingting

references:

Brown, W. D., & Barry, K. L. (2016). Sexual cannibalism increases male material investment in offspring: quantifying terminal reproductive effort in a praying mantis. Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 283(1833), 20160656.

Burke, N. W., & Holwell, G. I. (2021). Male Coercion and Female injury in a Sexually Cannibalistic Mantis. Biology Letters, 17 (1), 20200811.

Roeder, K. D. (1935). An Experimental Analysis of the Sexual Behavior of the Praying Mantis (Mantis Religiosa L.).

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