Complicity or conflict over sexual cannibalism? Male risk taking in the praying mantis Tenodera aridifolia sinensis.

Male complicity versus conflict over sexual cannibalism in mantids remains extremely controversial, yet few studies have attempted to establish a causal relationship between risk of cannibalism and male reproductive behavior. We studied male risk-taking behavior in the praying mantid Tenodera aridifolia sinensis by altering the risk imposed by females and measuring changes in male behavior. We show that males were less likely to approach hungrier, more rapacious females, and when they did approach, they moved more slowly, courted with greater intensity, and mounted from a greater distance. Similarly, when forced to approach females head-on, within better view and better reach of females, males also approached more slowly and courted with greater intensity. Thus, males behaved in a manner clearly indicative of risk avoidance, and we support the hypothesis of sexual conflict over sexual cannibalism.