as my grandmother used to say.
How many people ever get to see something like this? (leaving aside the question of how many people would want to . . . )
I was out taking pictures of the butterfly bush and happened to look down, and there they were! I wanted to stay to see whether she would really bite off his head, but I didn't have all afternoon to sit there . . . He did have a glazed, satisfied look, though.
Look at how much larger she is!
Stupid Question Dept:
Me: It looks like she's already full of eggs; do they mate more than once? John: Yes, but she already had all those eggs. They have to be fertilized. You know, like chickens.
Praying mantis = chicken
That is not an image I need in my head!
Fabre says that, at least in captivity, the female will mate with and devour up to seven males, whether she has laid her egg cases or not. The mating rites of mantises are well known: a chemical produced in the head of the male insect says, in effect, "No, don't go near her, you fool, she'll eat you alive." At the same time, a chemical in his abdomen says, "Yes, by all means, now and forever yes."
While the male is making up what passes for his mind, the female tips the balance in her favor by eating his head. He mounts her. Fabre describes the mating, which sometimes lasts six hours, as follows: "The male, absorbed in the performance of his vital functions, holds the female in a tight embrace. But the wretch has no head; he has no neck; he has hardly a body. The other, with her muzzle turned over her shoulder continues very placidly to gnaw what remains of the gentle swain. And, all the time, the masculine stump, holding on firmly, goes on with the business! . . . I have seen it done with my own eyes and have not yet recovered from my astonishment."
The quote above is from Annie Dillard's Pilgrim at Tinker Creek, which is one of the ten books I'd want if I were stranded on a desert island.
You know, if you were stranded on a desert island, logic seems to dictate that the means of your arrival would preclude the carriage of books...or would at least ensure their arrival in a state of sogginess that would prevent reading.
Posted by: Brian | Tuesday, 19 September 2006 at 07:50 PM
I am helping Kristy respond to all the knitters that have signed up for CAP!Thank you so much! We are so excited about the tremendous response! We are sure that this will be a success. If you have any questions you can e-mail at [email protected]
Posted by: Lori | Tuesday, 19 September 2006 at 09:14 PM
I've deleted 3 different responses to this, the mating rituals of the Praying Mantis. Why? Because all 3 had to do with ex husbands and heads that perhaps SHOULD have been bitten off at an opportune time. So I think I will let it go at that. LOL!
Posted by: kai naconi | Tuesday, 19 September 2006 at 09:42 PM
Ahhhh, love....
Being a bachelor, and all, I don't know this 1st hand, you understand, but....
We Cats are NOT into this sort of Love-making, and procreational, technique.
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