There are a ton of sexual innuendos one can make regarding this story, but we’re semi-adults and we’re going to take the high road.

A new study published this week points to the reason being the female’s desire to deliver the goods for her offspring, with the nourishment provided by the male helping her feed the babies.

This must have been a riveting study to carry out – just listen to this below from the Daily Maverick:

For the study, [researchers William] Brown and Katherine Barry from Australia’s Macquarie University fed crickets dosed with traceable radioactive amino acids to male mantises.

They then allowed the spindly insects to mate.

For half the males it turned out to be their final act, while the lucky rest were rescued by their human handlers immediately after pairing.

The scientists tracked the flow of radioactive proteins through the bodies of the cannibalistic females, and through their eggs.

In females those who ate their mates, “there is an increase in the number of eggs produced subsequent to cannibalism,” Brown told AFP by email.

A large proportion of the amino acids were absorbed not by the female, but passed on to the mini mantises.

In nature, male mantises are eaten by females in about 13-28 percent of sexual encounters, according to the study.

Such behaviour, said the team, can “be considered an extreme case of male parental investment.”

Most doting fathers would claim to give up an arm or a leg for their child(ren), but letting the old ball and chain snack on their noggins might be a step too far.

Animals hey, although I imagine they find some of the things we do downright strange too.

[source:dailymaverick]