Under conditions of food scarcity, insects exhibit trade-offs between survival and reproduction to maximize the number of their progeny. We review examples of how limited energy reserves are allocated among competing biological demands by insects in general. We focus on the spined soldier bug, Podisus maculiventris (Say) (Heteroptera: Pentatomidae), and describe changes in longevity, fecundity, and lipid content as functions of different food regimens. Food scarcity was found not to affect longevity, suggesting a channeling of limited reserves into metabolic activity; however, oviposition rates declined sharply. When starved predators were switched to a high prey diet, oviposition rates increased shortly afterward. Starved predators also contained higher levels of lipids in the fat body than well-fed counterparts. The lipids represented stored energy reserves, which again implied the priority given to survival under food stress. Similar trade-offs appeared to exist in field-collected predators. We discuss the adaptive significance of these phenomena as trade-offs to maximize reproduction.