When a female praying mantis bites the head off her sexual partner, it is probably not out of anger. According to a study published Wednesday, the mantis' proclivity for devouring her mate may have ...

Female praying mantises have a habit of killing and eating their partners during sex, which sucks for the male. Or does it? A fascinating new study shows this sacrifice is actually giving the males a ...

As you probably know, the female praying mantis will sometimes bite her mate’s head off. It’s not something that the insects make a habit of, exactly – they probably only do it when a male is ...

Female praying mantids are known for eating their mates, but what is the evolutionary advantage to this practice? This series of images is taken from film shot for Evolution: "Why Sex?" It depicts two ...

The praying mantis is well-known for two things: 1) the posture that makes it look like the insect is praying, and 2) the fact that the female often devours the male throughout the mating process. One ...

Bug lovers will recall that the female praying mantis cannibalizes the head of her sexual partner upon mating. Turns out this may not entirely accurate. Wrote Leland Ossian Howard in Science (1886): ...