"Of course, many of you will be eaten before you become adults."

May 9, 2006 5:51 PM

In nature, mothers aren't so motherly.
posted by Citizen Premier (21 comments total)

"queens chew holes in their larvae and then consume the oozing fluid," a practice that explains why the insects, found in Madagascar, are known as Dracula ants. The sampled larvae recover and mature into ants, but they bear lifelong scars of their early bloodletting."

There are also human momsters who vampire or slaughter their children one way or another.
posted by nickyskye at 6:14 PM on May 9, 2006

I love the images.
posted by soiled cowboy at 6:21 PM on May 9, 2006

The mother incubates as many as 20 eggs per womb. The eggs hatch and start to grow, and when their jaws are sufficiently mature, they commence feeding on one another. By gestation's end, just one sharklet emerges from each uterine chamber.

Freaky.
posted by delmoi at 6:23 PM on May 9, 2006

The mother incubates as many as 20 eggs per womb. The eggs hatch and start to grow, and when their jaws are sufficiently mature, they commence feeding on one another. By gestation's end, just one sharklet emerges from each uterine chamber.

I wish we could be more like them...
posted by c13 at 6:25 PM on May 9, 2006

many species of tadpoles are cannabalistic, though there is evidence that they prefer to eat non-siblings if available.
posted by MonkeySaltedNuts at 6:33 PM on May 9, 2006

Well, there *are* a lot of viable strategies for survival and propogation, if those are the only goals.
posted by SaintCynr at 6:42 PM on May 9, 2006

Just to be contrary, in the Social Spider Stegodyphus lineatus, the spiderlings eat the mother.
posted by dhruva at 7:29 PM on May 9, 2006

The headline of the second picture's caption says:
ABANDONMENT | PANDA

Am I the only one who immediately also thought of Sexual Harassment Panda?
posted by blacklite at 7:43 PM on May 9, 2006

If my mother sees this link, I fear she may play the "See How Good You Had It" card.
posted by Operation Afterglow at 9:29 PM on May 9, 2006

Cue Tom Smothers.
posted by rob511 at 10:23 PM on May 9, 2006

I remember a story, ages ago, where a dog gave birth to a litter of puppies. The dog's owner didn't want the pups, so he put them in a bag, dug a hole, and buried them alive in the yard. The mother dog watched all this, then chewed through her rope, freeing herself, and dug them back up. That seemed considerably motherly.

Oh, and those puppies? One of them grew up... to be me.
posted by notmydesk at 11:17 PM on May 9, 2006

"Oh, and those puppies? One of them grew up... to be me."

Lol


This post ruined nature for me btw.
posted by 13twelve at 1:23 AM on May 10, 2006

This post ruined nature for me btw.

It made it all the better for me.
posted by OmieWise at 6:36 AM on May 10, 2006

Nature's alternative to contraception.
posted by NationalKato at 7:47 AM on May 10, 2006

Who among us hasn't eaten the runt of the litter in order that the rest may thrive?
posted by fairmettle at 8:20 AM on May 10, 2006

and I thought the babel fish was the final proof of the non-existance of God, this has that beat by a mile!
posted by tiamat at 10:06 AM on May 10, 2006

"Oh, and those puppies? One of them grew up... to be me."

Five bucks well spent, I say...

This post ruined nature for me btw.

Another five bucks well spent, I say...
posted by Smart Dalek at 11:08 AM on May 10, 2006

Kill yr. darlings.
posted by allaboutgeorge at 12:59 PM on May 10, 2006

Hmm... I guess I did have it good.
posted by arcticwoman at 4:08 PM on May 10, 2006

> Oh, and those puppies? One of them
> grew up... to be me.
> notmydesk

Amazing. On the Internet, I never would have known you were a dog. < g>
posted by Ken McE at 5:39 PM on May 10, 2006

Little late to say it, but I raised some cannabalistic tadpoles myself. I'm also raising some praying mantises (mantids?) and I'm wondering if I really have to feed them, I only want a few big ones...
posted by Citizen Premier at 10:20 PM on May 10, 2006