Male mating behaviour reduces the risk of sexual cannibalism in an Australian praying mantid

Abstract

In cases where sexual cannibalism represents a sexual conflict, we should expect to find male traits that reduce the risk of cannibalism. In fact, a wide variety of such traits have been proposed, including elaborate courtship displays, cautious approach behaviours, and opportunistic mating whilst a female is feeding. However, there is very little direct evidence that these behaviours actually reduce the risk of sexual cannibalism for males, and the evidence that does exist comes mainly from spider studies. In this study of Pseudomantis albofimbriata praying mantids we found evidence of various male behaviours that reduced the risk of sexual cannibalism. Most males attempted to avoid detection entirely and others moved in a slow and stealthy manner. We also observed five cases of opportunistic mating, but saw no evidence of any male courtship routine. It seems that mounting from the rear of a female or slowly approaching her from the front, allows many males to go unnoticed and, therefore, substantially reduces the risk of sexual cannibalism in this mating system. Interestingly, we could not identify any female traits that males use to assess the risk of sexual cannibalism. It may be that P. albofimbriata males use alternative means to assess these risks. The presence of these behavioural strategies by males suggests a net cost of being consumed, and that sexual cannibalism is likely to be a female strategy in this system.

A paternity advantage for speedy males? Sperm precedence patterns and female re-mating frequencies in a sexually cannibalistic praying mantid

“…Female mating status and subsequent male attraction: male approach from close-range All males commenced and continued the common approach behaviours seen in P. albofimbriata (see Barry et al 2009): that is, no male actively rejected a female once visual contact was made, irrespective of her mating status. The proportion of males that approached from the rear of the female was no different for virgin (12/21) and mated females (15/21; Fisher's exact: P = 0.520), and the frequency of sexual cannibalism did not vary between virgin females (5/21) and mated females (4/21; Fisher's exact: P = 1).…”

“…Virgin females were randomly allocated to one of three treatments: 'virgin', 'mated' or 'mated-laid'. Both mated and mated-laid females were mated as per Barry et al (2008Barry et al ( , 2009, and virgin females remained unmated. Mated females did not lay an egg case before or during experimentation and mated-laid females laid an ootheca a few days (6.80 ± 1.16 days) before experimentation.…”

“…Trials continued uninterrupted until the cessation of copulation, irrespective of whether sexual cannibalism occurred (for a more detailed description of mating trial methodology, see Barry et al 2008Barry et al , 2009. Four mating combinations were arranged:…”

Males choose to keep their heads: Preference for lower risk females in a praying mantid

“…As a result, males have evolved counter-adaptations such as risk avoidance behaviors (Barry et al, 2009;Fromhage and Schneider, 2004;Lelito and Brown, 2006;Maxwell et al, 2010). In turn, risk avoidance behaviours can favour the evolution of new techniques for females to lure males (Barry, 2015), creating an 'arms race' between the sexes.…”

Sexual cannibalism increases male material investment in offspring: quantifying terminal reproductive effort in a praying mantis

“…Rates of sexual cannibalism are highly variable among species [1][2][3]. In praying mantids that exhibit sexual cannibalism, it occurs in 13-28% of natural encounters in the field [4][5], thus imparting significant mortality on males during the breeding season.…”