Praying mantis is a common insect with a unique appearance and habits, as well as many mysterious legends. Did you know that there is a big difference between male and female praying mantises, and their mating process is also very special. Today, we're going to unravel the mystery of the gender of praying mantises, see how they distinguish male from female, and why female mantis eats male mantises.
Body size, antennae, and abdominal segments.
In general, male and female mantis can be distinguished by looking at their body size, antennae, and abdominal segments. Male praying mantis is slender in size and has well-developed front and rear wings, making them suitable for flight. Female praying mantis are thicker in size and have fuller bellies because they need to store nutrients and lay eggs. Male praying mantis have longer and thicker antennae because they need to find a mate by feeling the sex pheromones released by the female praying mantis. Female praying mantis have shorter, thinner antennae because they don't need to actively look for a mate. The male mantis has eight abdominal segments, while the female mantis has only six abdominal segments, because the female mantis's last two abdominal segments will be retracted into the seventh segment, forming an ovipositor.
Tail and outer ***
In addition to the above methods, the male and female of praying mantis can also be distinguished by looking at their tails and outer ***. The male praying mantis has two hairs on its tail, while the female has four hairs on its tail. The role of these hairs is to help the praying mantis control balance and direction, and can also be used to sense changes in the environment. The outer *** of the male praying mantis is located at the end of the ninth section of the web plate and usually has a protrusion called the protrusion. The outer *** of the female mantis is located at the tip of the seventh section of the web plate and has two movable valves called ovipositors. These exomorphic forms can help praying mantis to mate effectively.
Copulation and sexual eating.
The mating process of praying mantis is very special because they have a phenomenon called sexual eating, that is, the female mantis will eat the head or whole body of the male mantis during or after mating. This behavior may seem cruel, but it actually has a certain biological significance. First of all, the female mantis eats the male mantis to replenish nutrients and prepare for egg laying. Secondly, after the male mantis is eaten off the head, it will ** more quickly, and will not run away halfway, prolonging the mating time and ensuring the quality of fertilization. Finally, after the male mantis is eaten, it will no longer mate with other female mantises, thus reducing competition and increasing the transmission rate of their genes.
However, not all praying mantis will have sexual eating, and it won't have to be. In general, large praying mantises, such as knife mantises, axe mantises, and thin-winged praying mantises, are more likely to have sexual eating, while smaller praying mantises, such as flower praying mantises, are not. Moreover, the occurrence of sexual eating is also affected by the environment, if the food is sufficient, the female mantis is less likely to eat the male mantis, and if the food is scarce, the female mantis is more likely to eat the male mantis.
Summary. The praying mantis is an interesting insect that has a clear difference between male and female, and their mating process is also very peculiar. We can tell their sex by looking at their body size, antennae, abdominal segments, tail, and outer ****, and we can also understand why they have sexual cannibalism, and the biological significance of this phenomenon. I hope you can learn some useful knowledge from this article and also have more interest and understanding about praying mantises.