How does it work?
From the males perspective
Using the praying mantis species sphodromantis lineola as an example, male mantises have shown different behavioral tactics when attempting copulation with a female (Kynaston et al' 1994). These behaviors shown by different male individuals are thought to have evolved via attempting to reduce chances of the male being consumed by the female before, during or after copulation has taken place (Kynaston et al' 1994). Research has shown the male mantis typically takes on either one of two possible strategies to attempt copulation.
The first strategy 'sneak approach tactic' is when the male orients himself in a position hidden from the females vision, which typically involves the male mantis approaching females from behind, attempting mounting from a distance of 2-8cm (Kynaston et al' 1994) This technique is mostly used when females are unaware of the males presence during the final stages of approach, proving the male mantis is conscious of the potential cannibalism and/or rejection that may take place when attempting to copulate. This opportunistic behavior of mounting the female from the rear remaining unnoticed substantially reduces the risk of sexual cannibalism in this mating scenario (Kynaston et al' 1994).
The second approach strategy used by males involves the male displaying courtship, with visual fixation of the female taking place, making his presence and intentions well known. Once the attention of the female is obtained, high amplitude antennae and dorsal ventral oscillations of the antennae in the direction of the female occurs. Males then cautiously approach the female from any direction, while performing three distinctive types of abdominal movements (as seen in the image below). These three movement consist of (1) a lateral shaking of the abdomen to the left and right, (2) a slow repetitive dorsal ventral movement of the abdomen with the wings fully raised, and (3) with wings partly raised, slower, deliberate bending of the abdomen to one side simultaneously twisting so that the tergites were displayed towards the female. The only time a male was spared when taking on this tactic in recent research by (Kynaston et al' 1994) (Barry et al' 2009) was when he showed all the above movements in one display/approach, indicating only 5% (n=1/20) of males who try this approach when copulating are spared consumption by the female (Kynaston et al' 1994). Slow approaches by the male from the front of some mantis species such as the Pseudomantis albofimbriata, have also shown reduced risk of cannibalism taking place (Barry et al' 2008).
Both strategies displayed by the male mantis have attendant risks, the number of males who manage to initiate copulation is low, thus techniques of the sneak approach appears to be of advantage where the female is typically caught by surprise to allow for copulation to take place, also allowing a greater chance of a male being spared after a spermatophore has been passed onto the female. Courtship expressions by the male appease females, however the feeding tendencies of the female are unknown to males, thus the female mantis if hungry may increase danger to the courting male as he may easily be mistaken/consumed simply as prey before copulation begins (Kynaston et al' 1994) (Barry et al' 2008).
The first strategy 'sneak approach tactic' is when the male orients himself in a position hidden from the females vision, which typically involves the male mantis approaching females from behind, attempting mounting from a distance of 2-8cm (Kynaston et al' 1994) This technique is mostly used when females are unaware of the males presence during the final stages of approach, proving the male mantis is conscious of the potential cannibalism and/or rejection that may take place when attempting to copulate. This opportunistic behavior of mounting the female from the rear remaining unnoticed substantially reduces the risk of sexual cannibalism in this mating scenario (Kynaston et al' 1994).
The second approach strategy used by males involves the male displaying courtship, with visual fixation of the female taking place, making his presence and intentions well known. Once the attention of the female is obtained, high amplitude antennae and dorsal ventral oscillations of the antennae in the direction of the female occurs. Males then cautiously approach the female from any direction, while performing three distinctive types of abdominal movements (as seen in the image below). These three movement consist of (1) a lateral shaking of the abdomen to the left and right, (2) a slow repetitive dorsal ventral movement of the abdomen with the wings fully raised, and (3) with wings partly raised, slower, deliberate bending of the abdomen to one side simultaneously twisting so that the tergites were displayed towards the female. The only time a male was spared when taking on this tactic in recent research by (Kynaston et al' 1994) (Barry et al' 2009) was when he showed all the above movements in one display/approach, indicating only 5% (n=1/20) of males who try this approach when copulating are spared consumption by the female (Kynaston et al' 1994). Slow approaches by the male from the front of some mantis species such as the Pseudomantis albofimbriata, have also shown reduced risk of cannibalism taking place (Barry et al' 2008).
Both strategies displayed by the male mantis have attendant risks, the number of males who manage to initiate copulation is low, thus techniques of the sneak approach appears to be of advantage where the female is typically caught by surprise to allow for copulation to take place, also allowing a greater chance of a male being spared after a spermatophore has been passed onto the female. Courtship expressions by the male appease females, however the feeding tendencies of the female are unknown to males, thus the female mantis if hungry may increase danger to the courting male as he may easily be mistaken/consumed simply as prey before copulation begins (Kynaston et al' 1994) (Barry et al' 2008).
Male abdominal movements made during courtship (1)(a) a lateral shaking of the abdomen to the left and right, (2)(b) a slow repetitive dorsal ventral movement of the abdomen with the wings fully raised, and (3)(c) with wings partly raised, slower, deliberate bending of the abdomen to one side simultaneously twisting so that the tergites were displayed towards the female. (Image from Kynaston et al' 1994)