3 ms·
"If the male won, mating was achieved in 58 percent of all encounters. If the female won, she almost always cannibalized the male without him getting an opportu
by lnanek2 6y ago
"If the male won, mating was achieved in 58 percent of all encounters. If the female won, she almost always cannibalized the male without him getting an opportunity to mate. "
Seems good for evolution. Weak males serve as a source of food for the females and don't pass on their genes. Strong ones get to sire young with multiple partners instead of getting eaten after one.
- danielheath 6y agoExcept that being good at fighting other praying mantises doesn't necessarily indicate e.g. being able to get a good ratio of hunted food to bodily needs. There's usually a tremendous evolutionary pressure towards lower resource needs.
- ALittleLight 6y agoI assume mantises that don't get enough resources won't be very good at fighting.
- danielheath 6y agoYeah but a smaller, weaker body can find sufficient food more easily because it’s needs are far lower. Growing big and strong means a higher risk of starvation, means you have to take more risks (eg of birds eating you) to get food.
- llampx 6y agoNot how carnivores work, I'd say.
- danielheath 6y agoMost carnivores are also prey animals, and have to worry about bigger carnivores.
- ssjwb 6y agoHindu mythology had a story similar to this: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinaka_(Hinduism) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pinaka_(Hinduism) Pinaka bow was like the thor's hammer in hindu mythology. It was placed in dashratha's palace. One day dashratha saw sita lifting it casually when playing with her sisters, so he declared the bow to be a test for those who wanted to marry sita.
- Bancakes 6y agoWe and our ancestors didn't eat babies, so it goes to show how shallow and naive evolution is.