May 16/2018

Feature:
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

Weekly Chuckle

Feb. 10/2016

(E.B.W.) Critter Corner
                                   
 Feature:
 7 Strange Facts About Praying Mantises

   “...praying mantis...refers to the insects’ imposing front legs that are bent at an angle as if they are folded in prayer. There are approximately 2,000 different species of praying mantises throughout the world, & their mystique is global.
   French folklore suggests a praying mantis can point a lost child back to her home. In Arabic & Turkish cultures, a mantis was thought to point towards Mecca. In Africa, the mantis was fabled to restore life to the dead. And they are used to treat a number of illnesses in China, such as impotence & thyroid enlargement... 

Most mantises in the U.S. are not native.The vast majority of mantises live in the tropics. Only 18 native species have ever been discovered on the entire North American continent... 

They’re the only insect able to turn its head 180 degrees side-to-side.Praying mantises have a unique, flexible joint between their head & prothorax that allows them to swivel their heads...

They can see movement up to 60 feet away. 
The praying mantis is the only insect known to have the ability to see in 3 dimensions, the same as humans...

Females sometimes eat their mates. 
...females are known to devour their mates during intercourse...
Gory details aside, most instances of sexual cannibalization occur in a laboratory setting. In the wild, scientists believe the male only gets eaten 5-30% of the time...

They’re not selective eaters.
Mantises...have a huge appetite & have been known to eat up to 16 crickets per day. Mantises prey on many different types of insects, including...bees & ladybugs, as well as small birds, frogs, lizards, & occasionally other mantises.

Mantises overwinter as eggs in colder climates.
Praying mantis adults typically live 6-12 months. In colder climates, the females will lay around 100 to 400 eggs in the fall...
Mantises’ cannibalistic tendencies start young. When the eggs hatch in spring, their first meal is often their own sibling.

Mantises are close relatives of cockroaches.
...praying mantises, termites, & cockroaches are all closely related. Entomologists believe these insects
have all descended from a common ancestor...” 


Zoe Blarowski
November 18, 2015
www.care2.com

Cute Critter Pic

Weekly Chuckle