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——I am the dividing line——
This is the second time the protagonist sees locusts cannibalizing each other. Compared with the last time where there were just sporadic locusts eating corpses, this time the cannibalism scene was larger and more cruel.
Hundreds of locusts, smelling the smell of corpses and the subsequent smell of blood, swarmed in from all directions, and soon covered the ground with a layer of them, so densely packed that even the ground could not be seen, only the rising and falling of locusts. Swarms of insects, and endless feeding.
The raging swarm of locusts not only gnawed on the immobile corpses, but also those locusts whose neck nerves were cut off but were not dead were also brutally mawed by the same kind.
After these locusts are attacked, their bodies will consciously move to avoid them, but facing similar wolves and tigers from all directions, they have nowhere to escape. The still-living head watched his body being eaten bit by bit. Although he was unconscious, any creature with a certain intelligence would be frightened to death in this scene.
The protagonist watched the swarm of locusts swarm in and roar away in just a few minutes, leaving only debris on the ground. These were inedible carapace and wing membranes, and almost all the usable parts disappeared. The tiny pieces of meat inside the limbs were not spared, and the ground was littered with chewed limbs.
Although this group of locusts has not yet transformed into migratory locusts, it has already demonstrated its terrifying sweeping ability, and will not let go even of its own kind.
This kind of cannibalism, that is, the act of cannibalizing the flesh or carcasses of animals of the same species, is actually not uncommon in nature, not just in insects, but also in multiple-birth animals and some primates.
Some female animals eat stillbirths, placentas and feces of their offspring after giving birth in order to clear away the dirt in the nest: for example, hamsters and mice eat part of their offspring due to too many litters, so that the survivors can grow normally; squirrel monkeys suffer from insufficient protein When a miscarriage occurs, the fetus will be eaten; female dogs and cats often eat their sick offspring to protect other offspring. If residual food occurs in normal, healthy piglets with a small number of litters, it may be due to the immaturity of the mother, lack of maternal experience, emotional excitement and environmental harassment, and is related to the decrease in postpartum progesterone levels (which has a sedative effect).
But there are also cases of cannibalism for reasons other than protecting the young. In some amphibians, such as the alpine salamander, newly hatched hatchlings will eat their younger siblings while they are still inside the egg. About one in five lion cubs in the wild are eaten by larger lions. Lionesses sometimes cruelly kill cubs to satisfy their hunger as food. There are also many lazy adult male lions who often devour lion cubs when they are hungry. These cubs may in turn drive other adult males out of the pride in the future.
The above are mainly cannibalism that kills young.
Insect cannibalism is mainly due to hunger, competition, mating and other reasons. Some species will hunt any prey of suitable size, including mating partners.
In nature, there are far more cannibalistic female animals than males. In arachnids and insects, it is common for females to eat the males they mate with before or during mating. In addition to mantises, many species of spiders, chironomids and a type of sea slug also do this. The special habit of females eating males is also known as sexual cannibalism.
Some people believe that sexual cannibalism is due to a variety of complex evolutionary reasons, including species cost-benefit, sperm competition and mysterious male and female elimination programs. But research has revealed that the motive for this gruesome cannibalism is very simple.
The first reason: Research has found that although males of certain species are devoured, they gain evolutionary advantages as a result. They use their bodies to nourish newly mated females, increasing the chances of the next generation hatching and growing, thereby allowing their own genes to be passed on. .
For example, red-backed spiders, male spiders that die from sexual cannibalism, mate for more than twice as long as those that survive and give birth to twice as many children as the latter. The male spider uses the long mating time to plug the female spider's sperm storage device with the broken copulatory device, blocking other competitors from the way to courtship.
The second point is the size of the male and female. If male spiders are smaller, they can easily be caught up and become prey. Large female spiders eat their weaker mates for two reasons: either because they are hungry, or because they have the ability to eat their smaller mates. A male spider smaller than itself.
Among wolf spiders, larger male spiders are never eaten by their mates, while smaller male spiders are eaten by their mates 80% of the time.
This is the bloody law of nature. Cannibalism is often an extreme method used by animals to quell competition for limited resources.
Although on the surface, locusts eat their own kind, reducing their own population size, which is not conducive to population expansion and gene retention.
However, when food and living space are limited, eating the corpses of the same kind, or even the living ones, is the most economical way.
Those locusts that can survive to adulthood must be those that can occupy a favorable position in the fiercest fighting and competition. They are also the strongest, most agile, and healthiest locusts.
These locusts will pass on their high-quality genes from generation to generation, and themselves will become a moving natural disaster.
——I am the dividing line——
The protagonist silently watches the locust swarm go away. They are following the footsteps of the ant army, leaving countless pieces of their food behind.
What an ironic scene this is. The ant army is obviously here to exterminate locusts, but it acts as the driving force for the survival of the fittest among the locusts.
Those locusts who are unlucky, not strong enough, and have insufficient judgment will die under the siege of ants, while the better ones are enjoying the fruits of the ants' battles and the corpses of other locusts.
The protagonist couldn't help but reflect on whether his killing of locusts made sense, or whether he was just accelerating the competition and formation of the locust swarm.
However, if he doesn't do this, he doesn't know how to nip a terrifying locust disaster in the bud.
After wandering for a long time, seeing that the ant army and the last locust were about to disappear from sight, the protagonist and his followers moved to another shrub with a good view.
After thinking for a while, the protagonist sent out a messenger. He planned to have the army turn back and first eliminate the locusts behind him that were biting the corpses of the same kind.
These locusts are undoubtedly more ferocious. They have seen blood and know how to obtain more energy and nutrients. They must be eliminated first.
The messenger left the bush and rushed towards the army, but she failed to complete her mission...
