Data for: Extra-genital wounding by males delays female remating in the sexually cannibalistic springbok mantis

An enigmatic consequence of sexual conflict in animals is the maintenance of traits in males that cause harm to females during mating interactions. Such harm is hypothesized to be either an adaptation per se, or a collateral side-effect of adaptations that benefit males in other contexts. Here, we take advantage of the unique mating interactions of the sexually cannibalistic springbok mantis, Miomantis caffra, to investigate the evolution of extra-genital wounding, whereby males stab females in the abdomen with foretibial claws while fighting back against cannibalistic attacks in premating struggles that lead to mating. If stabbing is adaptive, we predicted that experimentally wounded females would alter their remating behaviour or reproductive scheduling to the adaptive benefit of injurious mates. We found that females were not less attractive and did not cannibalize more following injury. Injured females also showed no change in mortality, fecundity or offspring production that would suggest male manipulation of female reproduction through wounding. However, injury caused a significant delay in the timing of remating and a reduction in the likelihood of remating with smaller males, suggesting a potential benefit through reduced sperm competition. Our results provide novel insights into how extra-genital wounding may be adaptive for males. (Note that data consist of 4 files: 1. female attractiveness (data_choice_successful), 2. female remating and cannibalism (data_remating_and_cannibalism), 3. female mortality and fecundity (data_ootheca_and_survival), and 4. offspring produced from the first ootheca (data_offspring_count)).

Methods
Data were obtained from a laboratory phenotypic engineering experiment on the springbok mantis (Miomantis caffra) . The aim of the experiment was to investigate whether extra-genital wounding of females by males is adaptive for injurious males. We allocated females to either an 'injured' or intact' treatment group. Injured females were experimentally stabbed the same way that males stab females with their fore-tibial claws during mating attempts. Prior to the injury procedure, females were mated with de-clawed males to ensure that mating occurred without any injury. We then assessed whether injury affected female attractiveness in a pheromone choice test, female reluctance in a remating test, female lifespan, lifetime fecundity, and hatching success of the first ootheca.