Presence of conspecific females motivates egg cannibalism owing to lower risk of filial cannibalism

► Presence of conspecific females triggers strong egg cannibalism in Geocoris pallens females. ► When cannibalizing, females do not discriminate between their own eggs and those of others. ► Females immune to filial cannibalism are strongly cannibalistic even when alone. ► Egg predators trigger a weaker egg cannibalism response in females. ► Results show that females use presence of conspecific females to avoid filial cannibalism loss.