Is the female of the species really more deadly than the male?

The answer to this question is a definite yes but it’s reserved to only a small but significant number of creatures on the planet.

These species take part in what is known as “sexual cannibalism”, where the female will often pray upon and even attack and devour the male during or after the mating process has been completed.

Despite its overall rarity sexual cannibalism is common in many families of arachnids, insects and amphipods.  

Biologists have debated how this behavior has evolved in these species. Some have suggested that sexual cannibalism is just a result of a voracious female appetite. But experiments have also suggested that it is a strategy that females use to select the best fathers for their offspring.

Scientists have found evidence that males may have had a role in the evolution of cannibalism. By surrendering themselves to their mates, males increase their reproductive success. Still other scientists have proposed that males actually go to great lengths to minimize their risk of being eaten.

The emerging consensus is that all of these theories may be right. Different evolutionary pressures produce sexual cannibalism in different species.

The Praying Mantis

They can be found Worldwide in temperate and tropical habitats.

Praying Mantises are exclusively predatory. Their diets consist mainly of insects but some of the larger species have been known to indulge on small reptiles such as lizards and snakes. Frogs, birds and even rodents can be on the menu.

Typically green or brown and well camouflaged on the plants among which they live, mantis lie in ambush or patiently stalk their quarry. They use their front legs to snare their prey with reflexes so quick that they are difficult to see with the naked eye. Their legs are further equipped with spikes for snaring prey and pinning it in place.

The female Mantis is notorious in the Animal Kingdom not only for her stealth and skill in killing prey victims but also for her cannibalistic reputation.

During mating it is commonly known that she may feed on her partner. She does this by biting off his head! Very intimate!

Research has suggested that the copulatory movements of the Mantis are controlled in the abdomen and not in the head. This means that the removal of the males head could actually be a reproductive strategy by females to aid fertilization whilst also receiving sustenance.

The Black Widow Spider

The species genus Latrodectus (which the Black Widow is part) can be found in most of the warmer regions of the World. They are predominantly observed in southern and western United States.

The female Black Widow Spider is well known for the distinctive black and red coloring. These color markings are designed to warn potential predators away.

Black widow spiders are nocturnal and, thus, are active at night. They prefer dark corners or crevices. They are said to avoid human dwellings, but you can find them in such areas as outhouses and garages.

Only the female black widow bites humans, and she bites only when disturbed, especially while protecting her eggs.

Its bite is highly venomous, particularly to humans, but is effective for disabling and killing its prey which consists of a variety of insects and occasionally other spiders.

The toxin affects the nervous system (neurotoxin). Muscle and chest pain or tightness are some of the most common reactions to the widow bite. Fatalities in humans have occurred and are most commonly due to respiratory paralysis.

During the mating process, the comparatively smaller male will deposit a sperm web (known as a palpi) to the female. The male then inserts his palpus into the female’s spermathecal openings and sexual reproduction will begin.

On occasion the female will eat the male after mating, generally the smaller the male is, higher the likelihood of his consummation will be. The little man syndrome is a matter of life or death in this game!

The lucky few males that manage to escape live for the opportunity to run the gauntlet of fertilization all over again.  Pheew!

The Death Stalker Scorpion

They can be found in North Africa and the Middle East. It prefers a dry climate, and makes its home in natural burrows or under stones.

The Death Stalker Scorpion is one of the most deadly scorpions on the planet.

 Its venomous sting compensates for its relatively small size and narrow weak pincers.

The sting injects extremely toxic venom (a neurotoxin) that can cause extreme pain, fever, convulsions, paralysis, and often coma or death in humans (by heart or respiratory failure).

Scorpions are mainly nocturnal and hunt at night. Their prey includes insects, spiders, and other scorpions. Larger species also prey on small lizards, snakes and mice.

 Mating starts with the male and female locating and identifying each other using a mixture of pheromones and vibrational communication. This is followed by a “dance” called the “promenade à deux”. In reality this is the male leading the female around searching for a suitable place to deposit his spermatophore.

 After fertilization has been completed the two will generally separate quickly, the male will retreat to avoid being cannibalized by the female. Run, run……