11 Wondrous Facts About Praying Mantises
“…1. They have great vision
…They
can see in 3-D & their eyes each have a fovea – a concentrated area that
allows them to focus & track with acuity. Aside from those 2 large compound
eyes, they also have 3 spare simple eyes located in between.
2. They are agile like cats …mantises have been found to jump with extreme precision, contorting
their body midair to land on a precarious & specific target…
3. They make swift work of their prey
Praying
mantis wait to ambush or patiently stalk their prey; but once they’re ready to
strike, they do so with lightning speed, attacking with those big front legs…In
addition, they have spikes on their legs to skewer & pin the victims into
place.
4. They are masters of disguise
…They
come in the form of leaves & sticks & branches, like many insects… Some
mantises molt at the end of a dry season to become black, conveniently aligning
themselves with the brush fires that leave a blackened landscape…
5. They only eat live food
Mantises
like their food still moving, apparently. Which makes them helpful in pest
control as they sup on all kinds of insects, including crickets, &
grasshoppers.
6. They disrupt the food chain
…they
commonly target hummingbirds! Not to mention warblers, sunbirds, honeyeaters,
flycatchers, vireos, & European robins, in addition to frogs & lizards…
7. They go zombie
…when
they capture birds, they go straight for the brains.
8. They do not have predators
…Their
predators include frogs, lizards, & birds, & spiders.
9. They do battle with bats
Praying
mantises are also preyed upon by bats… They can detect the bats’ echolocation sounds
& when they are approached, they dive to the ground…if caught, they try to
slash their way to freedom by use of their big spiky front legs…
10. They were thought to have special powers
…early
civilizations, including Ancient Greece, Ancient Egypt, & Assyria
considered them to have supernatural powers. (The mantis part of the name comes
from the Greek for prophet.)…
11. They engage in risky sex
...Mama
mantises lay an especially large bunch of eggs, which means they need a lot of
food. Which means, unfortunately for their partners, they may literally bite
off their head & devour them. And they may even do this during the course
of their 3-hour mating session. A little bit of coital cannibalism may also add
to the success of the copulation…”
Melissa
Breyer (Treehugger)
Sept.
29/2017
Care2.com
Cute Critter Pic
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