Sexual Cannibalism

No fun pictures, today. Just thought the idea of sexual cannibalism is pretty interesting. The most common example is probably that of the praying mantis, although it's really an overstated issue for the vast majority of mantises (although one breed does engage in it often). If you don't know what I'm talking about, I'll summarize it like this: Basically, the male mantis will sneak up on a female mantis in an attempt to mate with her. If she is quick enough, she'll turn around in time to bite his head off and eat it. Not before the male has mounted her and is in prime position, though. From there, his headless body continues to copulate, inseminating the female mantis.

A few other species engage in sexual cannibalism. Here's the (entire) page of one type of mite:

Serromyia femorata is a species of biting midge in the subfamily Ceratopogoninae. The species is noted for its peculiar mating practice: during mating, the ventral surfaces and mouthparts of the partners touch. After copulation, the female sucks out the body fluid of her mate through the mouth, thereby killing it (sexual cannibalism).

Another interesting, if slightly less cannibalistic, mating ritual is commonly performed by the ant:

"When the mating urge comes, something pretty stupendous happens--by human standards. 'Both the queen [female] and the prince [male] have wings,' Levine [ant tycoon] said. 'They fly 100 feet straight up in the air and mate.' After the quick tryst, several things happen, all bad in the case of the male. 'His wings fall off and he drops dead,' Levine said. 'The female also sheds her wings and falls to the ground. Then she begins laying eggs almost immediately. For possibly as long as the next 15 years after that single mating, she lays eggs almost continuously. Hundreds of thousands of them. The survivors become her colony.'"