Phyllothelys werneri (Giant Ghost Mantis) Pairing - Antennae play & Disaster!

Phyllothelys werneri (Giant Ghost Mantis) - Fascinating antennae interplay during courtship & disastrous consequences.
This is my first pairing of this species and according to popular belief is supposed to be quite placid to one another. Ahem, well i soon found out that this is not exactly always the case.
But first i must point you to the very fascinating interplay of antennae, especially by the male. This behaviour is very interesting as it seems there is a whole range of communication and interplay going on as you can see briefly in the first minute of the video.
As i reared these from the ooth I know this species is quite docile and relatively mild mannered. However, when it came to pairing them up, things took a turn for the worst.
The male seems to pounce on the female but came off worse, much worse. It's hard to tell if he was just trying to mount (albeit very quickly and aggressively, or if he actually was trying to attack her. Either way, he paid the ultimate price!
I must stress that when it all kicked off and they started fighting, i wasn't in the room. I had left the camera rolling for a few minutes while i nipped out of the room. When i came back they were locked in a death grip that i struggled to part. I am saying this because i don't want people thinking that i left them to fight in order to get some footage!! I am a passionate, loving breeder of Mantids and would never let this happen unnecessarily!! Plus, why would i sacrifice a male that way? Securing the next generation is my up most priority :)
Sadly the male died 2 days after this incident :( I am only posting this video in order to highlight the fascinating interplay of the Mantids' antennae during the preliminary courtship. And, to help people realise that even the most 'placid' of Mantids cannot be left unnatended without running the risk of a Mortal kombat situation.
Thanks for watching,
Mitch.

[@ilovemyself9565]

Lol she's fast