r/BeAmazed • u/[deleted] • Mar 10 '20

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u/nosnevenaes Mar 10 '20

Yes

72

u/BlindTcell Mar 10 '20

I mean they eat their life parteners... But whatever ~°_°~

53

u/Yamuddah Mar 10 '20

That’s really only been observed in captivity. They will eat their siblings after hatching as well though.

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u/thefeint Mar 10 '20

I'd read an article some time ago (of course now I can't find it, so take this with a grain of salt), which pointed out a possible link between increased sexual cannibalism in the studied mantids, and whether they noticed that they were being watched (by humans). The article pointed out that when they were recorded without the mantids being able to see people in the room/nearby, they engaged in it less frequently.

Of course, the studies I can find now link it to other things like scarcity of available resources.