Cannibalism in the Brown Marmorated Stink Bug Halyomorpha halys (Stål)

The phytophagous brown marmorated stink bug Halyomorpha halys (Stål) is known to exhibit cannibalistic behaviour towards eggs. Here, we provide evidence of cannibalism among overwintering H. halys adults. Since diapausing individuals have high physiological demands for surviving long periods under stressful conditions, including the risk of depletion of metabolic reserves and desiccation, we assumed that nutritional and water requirements can be met by intraspecific predation. The role of aggregative behaviour in promoting cannibalism is also discussed. Given its evolutionary advantage, this trait should be maintained over generations and may be more widespread than previously considered in species that display aggregative behaviour during adverse seasons.

A Case of Intraspecific Killing in Passerines: The House Sparrow (Passer Domesticus)

Even if intraspecific conflict is a well-known behaviour in birds, intraspecific killing among passerines is very rare in the literature. Cases of intraspecific predation among passerines constitute a very small percentage of published reports, and many of the cases are based on circumstantial evidence. In March 2013, we witnessed a group of House Sparrows (Passer domesticus) kill a conspecific male adult in the village of Gonsans (France, Doubs department). During the reproductive season three explanations of others studies (lack of food, weak condition and territorial behaviour during) could be relevant in our case. In conclusion, it appears that our observation is a very rare one and the second one for the House Sparrow.

Intraspecific predation in the Liolaemus lizard radiation: a primer

Intraspecific predation (cannibalism) occurs in a number of lizard species, although the incidence of this trophic behaviour appears to be infrequent. Within the South AmericanLiolaemuslizard evolutionary radiation, the primary component of the carnivorous diet (herbivory has also evolved in several species) includes a diversity of arthropods and other invertebrates. However, a number of cases of saurophagy, mostly cannibalism, have also been reported in different species. Here, I review for the first time the occurrence of cannibalism in this prominent group of lizards, one of the largest and more ecologically diverse living adaptive radiations. Adults of fiveLiolaemusspecies have previously been reported to feed on conspecific hatchlings, and one additional case (L. zapallarensis) is reported in this paper. In general, cannibalism is found in species located at the right side of the body size frequency distribution, while no cases have been reported on the far left range of body sizes, suggesting that cannibalism is more common in large species. Only one species of medium size (L. darwinii) is known to feed on conspecifics. In addition, males are responsible for 83% of the cases of cannibalism, while only one case of female cannibalism is known (L. chiliensis). Finally, no clear phylogenetic signal can be inferred from these observations, as the six reported cannibal species belong to four of the five mainLiolaemusclades.