Wednesday, January 18, 2012

Sexual cannibalism among spiders


Sexual cannibalism is the act of one partner eating the other after sex. In the orb-web spider, the female tries to grab and wrap up the male at the onset of mating so she can snack on him during sex.
Female black-widow spiders and praying mantis most often eat their partners after sex. Now, a new study has found that this creepy cannibalism may be meant for having healthier babies.

Researchers at the University of Hamburg in Germany found that male orb-web spiders make this ultimate evolutionary sacrifice for the good health of his offspring.

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