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Sexual Cannibalism And Sex Cannibalism

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In many Arthropoda (Arthropods), sexual cannibalism is quite common. Female Mantodeas (Mantids), commonly referred to as Mantis from their genus, have been known to decapitate their male counterparts before, during or even after sexual copulation. Sexual cannibalism varies widely amongst the species of Mantids, where some species lack this behavior all together. Males often take part in ritualistic dances to court a female and are very cautious of their proximity before attempting to mount. Although sexual cannibalism does not occur constantly, one could hypothesize that female sexual cannibalism is a foraging strategy that results in an increase of fecundity from the nutritional gain of consuming males. Female mantids who participate in sexual cannibalism should be more fit, thus contributing to the quality and quantity of her offspring. An increase in sexual cannibalism should occur when there is low food and resource availability. With gathered research I was able to evaluate the validity of my hypotheses. The phenomenon of sexual cannibalism in this perspective held some truth, yet produced repulsions amongst several others.

Introduction
Sexual dimorphism, favoring larger sized females, initially offered a theory as to why females exhibited cannibalistic behavior. Sexual cannibalism is where a counterpart eats his/hers potential sexual partner prior, during or after copulation. This is typically seen in female arthropods. It was once thought that females who

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