Why the Male Insects Die Soon After Fertilizing Female Eggs

The praying mantis is an insect known for cannibalism.

Male insects often have a shorter lifespan than female insects. Male insects are rarely necessary in raising young which makes them less valuable evolutionary after they mate. In the world of insects, passing along genetic material is much more important than individual lives.

Life Cycle

Male ants vie for the attention of a single queen.

Male life cycles are often shorter than females in every species. This is particularly true of insects. The male insect is usually produced as a means to an end. They are workers, protectors and sperm producers. Male insects generally do not serve a purpose outside of these tasks. Once a male insect has mated, his mission is complete and his life is over. Males often die shortly after copulating because their life span is just long enough to reach maturity and mate. Even male insects that mature early do not eat after mating, which quickly leads to their demise.

Nutrition

Female praying mantis devour their mates.

Many male insects become a meal for their mates. According to Marty Crump author of "Headless Mates Make Great Lovers," females will often devour their mates after copulation for nutritional benefits. Well nourished females produce more eggs and have healthier offspring. Males ensure their offspring have the greatest chance of survival by offering themselves as a meal to their mate. Environmentalgraffiti.com reports that male praying mantis' make up 70 percent of the female mantis diet.

Repeated Copulation

Several species of insects like the praying mantis can survive for days without a head. It is common for the female praying mantis to bite off the male's head before or during copulation. The removal of the head actually allows the male's body to ejaculate repeatedly, giving the female a greater chance of fertilizing more eggs.

Paternity

Some spiders offer themselves as meals to their partners to ensure paternity.

Being eaten during or after copulation also helps to ensure sole paternity. Marty Crump explains that the male biting midget offers himself as a food source to the female during mating. As she eats his body during copulation, the male dies and becomes attached to her internally. When she disentangles herself from him, a plug remains preventing her from further mating. The male Australian red back spider offers his body as meal for paternity reasons as well. As the female spider is eating, she mates for twice as long, which allows him to fertilize twice as many eggs. In addition to extra fertilization, female red back spiders that eat their mates are less likely to mate again, giving the eaten male the sole opportunity at paternity.

Proximity

In some insects, escaping after copulation is necessary for survival.

For some insects, life and death is a matter of proximity. Male spiders that venture into a female spider's web often find they cannot escape. After mating, the male becomes entangled upon the web and is wrapped in silk as if it were normal pray. Even social insects are known to eat to their suitors after mating. Queen bees and ants are hungry after mating, and if males cannot escape quickly, they often find themselves eaten.

References

• Environmental Graffiti: Insect Mating Habits
• Marty Crump: Headless Males Make Great Lovers