What Is Matricide Among Animals
By: NDTVNewsDesk
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Matricide among animals is the killing of a mother by her own genetic offspring.
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While rare in nature, it primarily occurs in invertebrates and social insects as an extreme survival or reproductive strategy.
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In species like the black lace-weaver and some crab spiders, the mother allows her spiderlings to consume her body after they hatch.
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Matriphagy is observed in some earwigs and pseudoscorpions, particularly when food is scarce in the environment.
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Certain species of centipedes also engage in this behavior, with the mother's sacrifice ensuring the newborns receive essential nutrients.
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In a process known as chemically induced matricide, parasitic ant queens invade a host colony.
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They spray a substance that manipulates the host workers into killing their own queen (mother).
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The workers eliminate their own mother to ensure the survival of the colony under a new reproductive leader.
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