5 Animals That Die As A Result Of Mating

Antechinus

The Antenchinus is a mammal that resembles a mouse with the bristly fur of a hedgehog and it belongs to the genus of dasyurid marsupial. They are equally small, carnivorous, shrew-like animals that primarily prey on invertebrates such as spiders, beetles and weevils. Their females carry pouches just like some other female marsupials. Examples include Kangaroos and Koalas. The male Antenchinus is one of the animals that practices suicidal reproduction. To them, sex is worth dying for. During mating they spend their time with one female after another sometimes lasting up to 12-14 hours per session. These dads die after devoting all their resources and energy to mating, an effort that helps their sperm-and genes-survive even when they are long gone.

Black Widow

As her name implies, she hardly gets to have a husband or male partner because she ends up eating them up. They practice what is called ‘sexual cannibalism’. Scientists are not clear on why these spiders eat up their mates though they have factored some reasons like: their choice of mate, aggressive tendencies towards prey, mistaken identity, among others.

Praying Mantis

The male Praying Mantis is equally on a suicidal reproductive mission. In the course of mating, the male bends over while the female bites of its head and begins to devour him – the male spilling more semen as he is devoured.

Drone (Bee)

A drone is a male bee that is the product of an unfertilized egg. They do not have stingers and can’t partake in nectar and pollen gathering. Their primary role is to mate with a fertile queen. Their penis is designed to disperse a large quantity of seminal fluid and spermatozoa with great speed and force. Mating takes place in the air and it takes less 5 seconds. The ejaculation is so powerful that it ruptures the abdomen as the penis cuts off from its body and ends up in the queen. The leftover penis remaining in the queen’s vagina is referred to as the “mating sign” which acts as a plug, preventing semen from flowing out of the vagina but not enough to prevent the next drone from mating.

Octopus

It has two eyes and four pairs of arms and is bilaterally symmetric, that is, the body can be divided vertically into two equal halves (left and right halves) with one of each sense organ and limb pair on either side. Most octopuses have no internal or external skeletons and they are among the most intelligent animals. When it comes to mating they have no immediate issues during or after mating. However, the males’ woes come months after mating - It dies, while females follow suit after their eggs hatch.