CAN CANNIBALISM BE A RESPONSIBLE PARENTING STRATEGY?

I’ll fess up.  I wrote the most inflammatory title I could think of to catch your attention.  Please forgive me.

The American burying beetle uses carcasses of suitable size (80-200 grams) to feed its larvae (plural).  If the carcass is consumed to quickly then the larva (singular) may not grow big enough and have enough stored energy to pay the cost of metamorphosizing into the adult form.  Also, the size of the larva determines their size as an adult.  Runty larvae make runty adults.  For American burying beetles, bigger is better so runty adults are not as likely to win a carcass as a big thumper of a beetle.  What is a parent to do?  First, the females lay the eggs asynchronously.  Meaning, she doesn’t lay them all at the same time.  That way, they don’t hatch all at the same time.  If the carcass is running low, she can eat the runts and hopefully have enough carcass to support the remaining larvae.  So, can cannibalism be a responsible parenting strategy?  Not for me!  But I only have one child.  I have put a ton of energy into her and she is stringy (and probably gamey too).