3 Female Insects That Eat Their Mates

If you think love is harmless, look at these 3 insects..

PRAYING MANTIS

In praying mantises, around 25 percent of all sexual encounters result in the death of the male. The female typically begins by biting off her partner’s head, and she works down from there. Incredibly, this comprises about 63 percent of the female’s diet during the mating season. Females who eat their male partners after sex produce more eggs than those who don’t. What’s more, by eating the male, the widowed female ensures that her man is still providing for their offspring, even though he’s dead.

BLACK WIDOW

Black widows are typically solitary creatures and travel by themselves all year long except for a short period of time when males and females come together to mate. The notorious black widow mating is particularly violent and occasionally ends in the female spider eating her male partner. This violent ritual is the reason why these spiders were given the particular name 'black widow'. When not mating, these spiders spend most of their time spinning large webs. The females will suspend a cocoon with dozens of eggs inside from their webs. Black widows also use these webs to catch their prey.

JUMPING SPIDER

When enthusiastic male jumping spiders flirt with females more than just their dignity is at risk. A hungry female who rejects the advances of a male might decide to eat him for dinner instead. Because the foolhardy male spider cannot distinguish between other female species of spiders they vigorously dance and sing (yes they sing) to all females they come across. Nearly one in five of these displays result in the male spider being attacked.