Cannibalism in Insects: An overview
Cannibalism, otherwise known as 'intraspecific predation' is the process of both killing and eating of an individual of the same species (Polis 1981). It can be thought this form of consuming another individual, is arguably the ultimate selfish act. Cannibalism is a significant behavioral trait among a wide array of species. In human cultures the act is considered as a taboo, however this ecological interaction has been commonly observed in many animal species including protoza, planaria, rotifers, snails, copepods, centipedes, mites, fish, anurans, birds and mammals, and most importantly insects (Fox 1975). Cannibalism was once attributed to only occurring in unnatural environments under laboratory conditions, however studies over time have lead to it being now accepted as a normal phenomenon among natural populations of arthropods (Richardson et al' 2010) (Lawrence 1992). Cannibalism ultimately plays a role in adjusting demographic structure and population processes, life histories of certain species, competition for mating and resources among individuals, and driving adaptations and evolution processes to give the forms of insects we see today (Fox 1975) (Richardson et al' 2010). Cannibalism is most commonly researched in the carnivorous order mantodea, however many other Insect orders have also been documented to part take in cannibalism, which include:
(Richardson et al' 2010) (Fox 1975) (Hironori & Katsuhiro 1997) (Duelli, P 1981) (Eggert & Sakaluk 1994)
- Blattodea (such as cockroaches)
- Coleoptera (beetles such as Microcylioepul pusillul)
- Diptera (blowflies)
- Hemiptera (corixidae have shown cannibalism)
- Hymenoptera (inc sawflies, wasps, bees and ants)
- Mantodea (Mantises)
- Neuroptera (inc lacewings and antlions)
- Odonata (dragon flies and damselflies)
- Orthoptera (grasshoppersand crickets)
- Thysanoptera (inc Thrips)
- Trichoptera (caddisflies)
(Richardson et al' 2010) (Fox 1975) (Hironori & Katsuhiro 1997) (Duelli, P 1981) (Eggert & Sakaluk 1994)
Insect canibalism in the mantis species
The most common and widely researched form of cannibalism seen in insects is sexual cannibalism. Sexual cannibalism is predominantly undertaken by the mantodea order of insects, which includes the carnivorous and predatory praying mantis (Suttle 1999) (Birkhead et al' 1988). This website aims to concentrate on the sexual cannibalism seen in mantises and the implications this has for the species in the future, as well as how the species came to evolve to use this strategy in copulation.
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Feel free to navigate the website via the links above to find out more!!