The common praying mantis is a live insect trap. The most interesting information about the insect Mantis Small praying mantises
Well, first of all, why “mantis”? The name is quite strange, to be sure. The name of the insect was not invented by anyone, but by Carl Linnaeus himself, the founder of the entire biological table, a great mind. So, when he finally paid attention to the praying mantis, he exclaimed: “Tja, det ser ut som på mantis, för fan!”, which translated from Swedish means “Well, it looks like a praying mantis, damn!”
If you look at a praying mantis, you can really see that the pose of this insect is similar to the pose of a praying person. That is why Linnaeus gave the name Mantis religiosa or “religious priest”, in our opinion.
As for official judgments about the praying mantis, they are as follows. Praying mantises are not just a type of insect, but an entire suborder, with many species. The length of the praying mantis is about 5 cm. In American films, praying mantises sometimes reach five meters in length.
The color of the praying mantis varies from green to brown. The praying mantis has wings, but it rarely uses them, I will tell you why later. Females, for example, use their wings only in exceptional cases. Until a certain point, scientists even believed that the female’s wings were necessary only for intimidation. Then, after observing, they finally realized that the female could fly. True, they still don’t understand why praying mantises need to fly.
Well, not that much later. I actually wanted to reveal all of Mantis's cards at the end, but I can't wait to talk about Mantis' origins now. Official scientific opinions about the origin of the praying mantis are extremely uninteresting. All the same nonsense: the origin of life in water, the first amphibians, arthropods, insects, modifications that led to the development of the praying mantis, blah, blah, blah.
There is also unofficial version origin. It is so obvious that even a child will agree with it, unlike inert scientists. To truly understand the praying mantis, it is enough to look at the face of the praying mantis for a couple of minutes.
Here, watch for two minutes, try to understand.
Do you see? I am sure that you also understood the whole truth, namely that the praying mantis is a creature of unearthly origin. It only looks like an insect, but if you look at it more closely, a version of alien origin immediately comes to mind.
Do not rush to accept the skeptical side of scientists, let's look at some facts together.
Again, let's take coloring. I already said that it varies, but I didn’t say how much. It varies so much that it is impossible to say definitely what color the praying mantis is. Of course, we are used to thinking that the praying mantis is green. This is true, but the mantis is green only when it sees leaves. Since scientists, in their own foolishness, continue to look for praying mantises only on leaves, they have no idea about the ability of the praying mantis to choose any color they please.
How about this coloring?
Look around you and remember that praying mantises are everywhere. They disguise themselves so that we don’t see them, but that doesn’t mean they don’t exist, right? Look carefully, perhaps the praying mantis is hiding among your office papers or sitting right on your brand new iPhone. Or maybe he was hiding in an indoor flower.
Don't forget to look in the barn.
Another fact that is known to many. No, I can’t talk about him calmly. The fact is that after sex, the female eats her partner. Do you think this is normal? Imagine a herd of cows. They graze and eat grass peacefully. Then the young bull comes, moo-moo, all that. Here he is climbing on his love, here is sex. And then! The cow turns around and eats the bull whole! One, one, and it's done. And then he continues to peacefully eat grass.
If this is not enough for you, then I will continue. Not only do females eat males after sex. This can be understood: vitamins, nutrients necessary for the development of the mantis... But how can we understand the fact that before sex, the female bites off the male’s head? Before sex, not after. Imagine a herd of cows. However, it’s not necessary, you have no idea. A headless bull on a cow... Really, you shouldn’t even think about it.
In fact, the female does not always bite off the head and does not always eat the male. That is, this is an optional condition. And this only adds new questions like “What’s the point then?!” Scientists keep silent about these questions, while agreeing that in earthly nature this is an exceptional case.
This act of cannibalism inspired not only me. For example, one Frenchman Marcel Rolland wrote about it like this:
“I will tell you below how the praying mantis devours its victims, but I must say that this drama, played out in the mysterious, apparently serene canopy of a hedge, was for me my first meeting with the Relentless. Thus I learned the terrible law of force to which the world is subject.”
There he said a lot more, one might even say that the praying mantis shook his psyche.
Scientists differ so widely in their assessments of this act that they sometimes go too far in their reasoning. So one of the scientists proved the thesis that the very fact of biting and nibbling is not so new in nature. Even among people you can find analogies. In short, I wrote all these words just to quote the words of this scientist:
Myths and folklore do not remain in debt: with their data they confirm the material of individual imagination. First of all, in the North Asian and North American regions there are widespread myths about women with toothed vaginas who kill, cutting off the penis, those who dare to have sexual intercourse with them.
Friends, I will take a short break and then continue. The devouring female praying mantises do not allow me to just pick up and continue my story.
Of course, there will be skeptics who will say “oh well! Common insect! But it's not that simple. Remember the cartoon about kung fu panda? So, there, among the kung fu masters, along with the tiger and the monkey, there was a praying mantis. An unheard of honor for small insect, don't you think?
The fact is that the Chinese were among the first to realize that something was wrong with the praying mantis. Just in case, they began to praise him. They not only drew a praying mantis, it’s not that strange, especially for the Chinese, they came up with a whole style martial art- praying mantis style. Not even a style, but a whole direction of styles, including: “Plum Blossom Mantis”, “Seven Star Mantis”, “Six Coordination Mantis Boxing” and other equally funny names.
We must give credit to the Chinese for understanding the true nature of the praying mantis.
Mantises have wings, but they rarely use them. They do not need them for hunting; mantises have other methods of hunting. They also do not use flight for defense, as they are well camouflaged. Thus, wings are not needed for daily activities. It can be assumed that wings are necessary for migration, but nothing is known about flocks of flying mantises.
Possible solution this fact lies in one of the songs:
I read in one book,
That when it gets bad,
And an ice ax and a saw will rise above the world
They will be removed from the branch
And they will excite you and me,
Under tight wings.
Why do praying mantises have such a strong influence on people’s consciousness? And they really have a strong influence, all over the world. I already talked about the Chinese with their praying mantis style. Other peoples also had special ideas about this insect.
Thus, in Africa there is still a cult of the praying mantis, which is considered a god and founder of the worlds. In Europe they also paid attention to it Special attention. Attitudes towards the praying mantis are ambiguous; in some cultures it is extolled, in others it is considered a demonic creature.
Perhaps the praying mantis earned such attention through its ability to look. The praying mantis is perhaps the only insect that has the ability to move its head in the direction of its gaze. That is, unlike other insects, he not only sees, but also looks.
Generally speaking, the number of beliefs and myths associated with the praying mantis is amazing.
More interesting fact. The praying mantis gets along just fine without a head and can even have sex. But that is not all. Not only can he walk and balance without a head, but without a head he can pretend to be dead. That is, being dead, he can pretend to be dead.
This incredible feature, as well as the ability to perfectly change one’s appearance, prompted one African tribe to the creation of a myth about how a praying mantis turned into a dead antelope. The hunters found him and prepared to cut him with stone knives. But even then the mantis remained motionless. Then they started cutting pieces off the antelope. And only after this, the antelope again turned into a praying mantis. It was an elder pilgrim, he collected all his cut-off parts, attached them to himself and began to run with his paws raised (well, you know how he can do that), grab and eat children.
This is such a mythical African horror.
Praying mantises are predatory insects that have received so much interesting name for a special “prayer” pose, which is taken in the process of tracking prey. Quite a long time ago they were classified as cockroaches due to the similarity of characteristics, but over time they were separated into a separate detachment of Bogomolovs.
External characteristics of praying mantises
There are more than 2 thousand species of praying mantises on the planet, and they all differ radically in color and lifestyle. How to determine the type of praying mantis? By external signs representatives of the Bogomolov order have many similar characteristics: a small triangular head, very mobile, with well-developed eyes, a narrow body, articulated limbs.
The existing front wings, equipped with an intricate pattern, are often used by insects for protection; in case of approaching danger, they open them wide, thereby scaring away the enemy. Transparent rear wings are required for flight. Sometimes completely wingless or short-winged specimens are found. How to determine what species praying mantises are?
Insect specificity
The most specific feature of such a unique insect is its color, which matches the color of individual elements of its habitat: stones, grass, flowers, tree leaves. The most common praying mantises are yellow and brown and green in color, which accounts for 80% of their total number. The motionless mantis in natural environment almost impossible to see. An insect can only reveal its presence by movement.
The mantis moves slowly, but in case of danger it is able to very quickly move to a safe distance and freeze in place again. Because the favorite pose of such a unique insect is expectant. Like spiders, praying mantises are ambushers, ready to wait patiently for days on end for an unwary mosquito.
Praying mantises lead a solitary lifestyle. They are more active during the day, as potential victims are tracked visually. It is precisely because of the long wait that the overwhelming number of insects have, and some specimens have, a special body shape. For example, species of mantises that live in grass are painted in green color and resemble a blade of grass, brown-variegated insects look like dry twigs. The praying mantis Choerododis stalii has tiny spots on its body that mimic damage sheet plate plants. Tropical species of mantises that wait for their prey in flowers have a curved abdomen and flat lobes on their feet, reminiscent of flower petals.
It is especially striking in its adaptability to natural colors, which at a young age has a white color, as it matures it becomes pink, completely indistinguishable from a flower.
Mantis: the most common species
The most common are
In Russia, species of such insects are found mostly in steppe regions, as well as in southern Siberia, the North Caucasus, the Far East, South Africa, Central Asia and Kazakhstan. The tree mantis of the genus Hierodula and the spotted-winged mantis (Iris polystictica) also live there.
In the southern regions of Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus, the Empusa mantis has adapted, characterized by large sizes(about 6.5 cm in length), with a pointed triangular head and a long outgrowth protruding from the front.
Preferring open bushy spaces, it is most active in the dark. Larvae appear in summer period and immediately switch to feeding on butterflies and fillies. In the southern regions of Russia, a praying mantis from the genus Bolivaria is often found.
By the way, bolivarius, spotted-winged mantises and empusa in some places become rare representatives of the animal world due to the destruction of dense herbs during the plowing of steppe lands.
Desert species of mantises, whose names are difficult for the average person to remember, are characterized by their small size and similarity to ants in the process of movement. Prominent representatives are rivetina (Rivetina and Armena).
Habitat
The praying mantis can live both on the upper tiers of trees and shrubs, and at the very surface of the earth, in the grass. Thanks to its well-developed wings, the insect can fly, and only males fly. Given enough food, a praying mantis can live in a tree for the rest of its life.
Being heat-loving by nature, mantises feel most comfortable in tropical and subtropical zone. It is there, in and wet forests, meets greatest number varieties of such insects. In cold climates, predators tend to inhabit the warmest regions: dry meadows and steppes.
Nutritional Features
Almost all species of mantises feed on insects; representatives of the tropics prefer lizards and frogs. In a day, the praying mantis is able to eat 7 small cockroaches, spending about half an hour chewing each one. In the process of eating, he is consistent: first he chews the soft parts, and then moves on to the harder ones. The norm of life for them is cannibalism, which sometimes manifests itself at the most inopportune moment.
It has been noticed that after mating, it often eats its chosen one. In order not to end up in the stomach of his lady, the partner performs a ritual dance before the act of intercourse, setting the female up for a peaceful mood.
Mating of tropical mantises occurs year-round, species of mantises temperate zone unite in one impulse autumn period. The female is capable of laying up to four hundred eggs several times. Choose any suitable surface for the masonry: grass stems, tree branches, sand. The female dips each clutch into a foamy mass, which, when hardened, forms a gray, brown or sand-colored capsule. Egg maturation lasts from 3 weeks to six months. In species temperate climate the eggs survive the winter. Mantis nymphs differ from adult insects only in the absence of wings; the body shape is exactly the same, as is the gluttony. Adult individuals develop very quickly and in the process of growing up can survive about fifty molts.
Intimidate the enemy
Praying mantises are peace-loving insects, but in the face of approaching danger they take an unfriendly “hunting” pose. To make them more intimidating, they can make sounds: rustle their wings, click their legs. If this does not have any effect on the enemy, they fly away or rush at the enemy and bite him. Moreover, in an attack on the enemy, in an attempt to prick him, he puts forward his grasping legs. The enemies of praying mantises are chameleons, snakes, and birds. Today, mantises are becoming increasingly popular and sought-after animals in home insectariums.
The common mantis, or religious mantis (lat. Mantis religiosa) is an insect from the family of true mantises of the order Mantis. A large predatory insect with forelimbs adapted for grasping food. Reaches 42–52 mm (male) or 48–75 mm (female) in length. The largest and most widespread praying mantis in Europe.
Description
The color is protective, very variable, ranging from green or yellow to brown-gray or dark brown. The pronotum is of moderate length, the front legs are grasping, in addition to obtaining food, they are also used for movement. The hind legs are running. The wings are well developed in both males and females (although females, due to their impressive size, fly very poorly and reluctantly). The abdomen is ovoid, rather long.
How to keep a praying mantis as a pet?
The praying mantis can make a fun and cuddly pet. This pet is intuitive and more intelligent than most members of the insect family. A praying mantis can often live for up to a year, sometimes longer, if cared for properly. In fact, some naturalists even claim that the praying mantis can recognize humans.
1. Make a home for the praying mantis
The container for keeping the praying mantis should not be too large so that it can find its prey and, at the same time, it should not be too small so that it is not too crowded. The length of the container should be 3-4 times longer than the mantis itself, and the height should be at least 2 times its length. The reason for this is that the mantis must have enough space to pursue its prey, but not excessively, otherwise it will not be able to find it.
2. Create the right environment
For the life of a praying mantis it is necessary favorable environment. Make holes in the top of the lid or container to allow the mantis to breathe. The cage should have several plants that are the same color as the insect so that your pet can camouflage itself, but the cage should not be overcrowded. The bottom of the container should be filled with a layer of soil approximately 1.2 cm thick, preferably sand. Make sure the container is not too wet. If the sides are foggy, add a few more holes on the top or sides. Spray the inside of the cage about once a day to ensure the mantis has water to drink. The praying mantis will climb up the wall of the container and lick the water. If you place an open container of water in its home, the mantis may fall into it and drown.
3. Feed the praying mantis
A praying mantis' nutritional requirements will vary depending on their growth stage, although in general they won't need much food.
- For pet store-purchased larva: Feed fruit flies, small crickets, mosquitoes, aphids and other small insects.
- For a full-grown mantis that is molting (adult stage): start increasing the size of the insects, and then at each shedding period, feed normally, but remove anything that it ignores, because the mantis may not eat while molting.
- For a fully grown mantis, you will have to work hard: catch butterflies, crickets, grasshoppers or even house flies. IN wildlife Mantises will consume anything they can catch and hold. They've even been known to eat bees and wasps in the wild, but you probably don't want to mess with them.
- You don't have to buy crickets from a pet store, although some people will tell you that using wild crickets can make your pet sick. There may be no harm... for store-bred mantises, but for wild caught ones there will be harm. Caution should be exercised when it comes to pet store-purchased crickets. In many pet stores, the crickets are not fed or cared for properly, and any diseases these crickets have may end up being passed on to your mantis. If you're not sure, feed store-bought or caught crickets a good diet food for a few days to help them deal with the bacteria in their gut and they'll be fine.
- Don't give your praying mantis live food that is larger than it is or that might eat your praying mantis itself.
What to feed a praying mantis in winter?
In winter, as you know, you can’t catch insects on the street, but this problem can be solved. You can buy maggots at a pet store - they are sold in plastic containers, into which dry sawdust is poured; At home, such a container can be stored in the refrigerator. If this container is kept at room temperature, the maggot will quickly pupate, and within a week you will have fresh flies. The second option is zofobus: in a box with cereal they not only live well, but also continue to reproduce. Various types of cockroaches are well suited for winter feeding. As a last resort, you can feed the praying mantis with small portions of meat. But in large quantities You should not give meat - the insect may get sick and die.
IN natural conditions The praying mantis grabs any insect that passes by it. Young animals require more food to full development; Adults can go without food for five days.
But you should not throw food insects into large quantities- this can lead to stress in the mantis. In addition, some insects have quite developed jaws, with which they can bite the mantis during molting.
Food for a pet is any insect that is suitable for it in size. Young animals need to be fed small insects - such as aphids, fruit flies, fruit flies. Adults are very voracious, eat almost any insect in large quantities and can even feast on a small lizard or mouse.
Adults are fed once a week: you need to make sure that the mantis does not overeat, otherwise rupture of the abdomen cannot be avoided. Be sure to have water in the terrarium. You can use a special insect drinker to prevent animals from accidentally drowning, or a plastic lid for a jar.
If you thought that the praying mantis is a harmless and very calm insect with a passive demeanor, then get ready to learn something new about them. Researchers have discovered that these aggressive carnivorous insects kill and eat not only small reptiles such as frogs and lizards, but also small birds. Study international group Zoologists have documented this behavior of mantises around the world.
It is noteworthy that in general this behavior of mantises was not special. A YouTube search easily turns up a selection of videos showing a praying mantis eating a hummingbird. A new study by a team of zoologists systematically documents 147 examples of mantis attacks, representing 12 different types, on small birds. Scientists tracked the behavior in 13 countries, finding that praying mantises preyed on 24 species of birds.
Interestingly, more than 70 percent of documented cases have been recorded in the United States, and the majority of victims are hummingbirds. Praying mantises have been used in gardens for many decades as biological agents for pest control, and to this day, many Americans still use both imported and native species for pest control. But new research shows the insects also pose a threat to small passerine birds. In addition, such inselectivity of mantises makes them not the best remedy insect control.
This is one of the most unusual and mysterious insects on our planet. It differs from many others in habits, way of life, some behavioral characteristics which may shock. First of all, this is behavior during the mating season. But this is not main feature praying mantis insect. In this article we will talk about this in detail. amazing creature, about its way of life, varieties, habitats. You will learn what the praying mantis eats and how the reproduction process occurs.
Spreading
The praying mantis is widespread in Southern and Central Europe, Southern and North America, Asia, Australia, Africa. These insects do not live only in the northern regions, since they have an extremely negative attitude towards the cold. But in humid and hot climates tropical Africa And South America they feel great.
They feel no less comfortable in tropical forests, in rocky deserts, in steppe regions. The praying mantis insect moves quite rarely, preferring its habitat to distant and unknown territories. The only reason that can force him to travel is a lack of food.
Types of praying mantises
Scientists believe that our planet is inhabited by about two thousand various types these insects. Naturally, we will not be able to present you with all the varieties in this article, but we will tell you about, in our opinion, the most unusual representatives of this family.
Common praying mantis
This is a fairly large representative of the species: the female is up to seven centimeters long, the male is about six. In the countries of Europe, Africa and Asia where the praying mantis lives specified type, it can be distinguished by its ovoid abdomen and black spots located on the front pairs of legs with inside. They are usually painted green or brown. This species has well developed wings. In any case, the praying mantis flies from branch to branch quite easily.
Chinese mantis
From the name you can understand that the birthplace and place of distribution is China. This large insect, reaching a length of fifteen centimeters. The male Chinese mantis is much smaller. Are they painted green or Brown color. The peculiarity of this species is its nocturnal lifestyle, although its relatives sleep at night.
In addition, young individuals of this species do not have wings: they grow only after several molts.
Creobroter meleagris
This is a resident of India, Cambodia, Vietnam and a number of Asian countries. These insects reach five centimeters in length. Colored in cream or white. Their distinctive feature are light brown stripes running along the head and entire body. In addition, one small and one larger cream-colored spot can be seen on the wings.
Flower mantis (Indian)
Creobroter gemmatus is common in the forests of Vietnam, South India and other Asian countries. This species is not large in size: females grow up to only four centimeters, and males are slightly smaller. The body is elongated. For additional protection from enemies, representatives of this species have special spikes of varying heights on their thighs.
Orchid mantis
It seems to us that this is the most spectacular praying mantis. It got its name for a reason - for its amazing external resemblance With beautiful flowers, orchids. It is on them that the insect ambushes in anticipation of the victim. Females of this species are doubled more males: eight and four centimeters. Orchid mantises, even among their fellows, are distinguished by amazing courage: they even attack insects that are more than twice their size.
Spiny flower mantis
Pseudocreobotra wahlbergii is a native of Africa. It closely resembles the Indian flower mantis. Its color is especially interesting: on the upper pair of wings you can see a pattern that resembles a spiral. Representatives of this species have spines on their abdomen, which give the species its name. Representatives of this species are painted in cream shades.
They fly beautifully, both males and females, due to their light weight, and the wings of such insects are well developed. Interestingly, these insects have spots on them that resemble an eye with two pupils, which, according to researchers, can scare away predators. Representatives of the species live in plant flowers, where they lie in wait for their prey.
History of insect names
In 1758, the name of these insects was given by the Swedish traveler and scientist Carl Linnaeus, who drew attention to the usual pose of the praying mantis, which is in ambush and awaits its prey. It is very reminiscent of the pose of a praying person. The scientist named the insect Mantis religiosa, which can be translated as “religious priest.” The name came into the Russian language modified - “mantis”. True, it is not called that way everywhere: for example, in Spain it is called Caballito del Diablo, which translates as “devil’s horse.” This somewhat creepy name is probably due to the habits of praying mantises.
Description of mantises
The insect has an elongated body, which distinguishes it from many arthropods. This is probably the only thing Living being, which can easily rotate its triangular head 360°. Thanks to this, the mantis can see its enemy approaching from behind. The insect has only one ear, but despite this, the mantis does not complain about hearing.
Its eyes have a complex facet structure and are located on the sides of the head, but in addition to them, the mantis has three more simple eyes located above the base of the mustache. Antennae can be feathery, filiform or comb depending on the type a certain type. Almost all species of mantises have well-developed wings, but males fly more often; females have significantly more weight, which makes flight difficult.
The wings of praying mantises are presented in two pairs: front and back. The first are the elytra, which practically protect the hind wings, which have quite bright colors, and often with original drawings. But the earthen mantis (Geomantis larvoides) has no wings at all.
The blood circulation of mantises is quite primitive, which is explained by their unusual respiratory system. Oxygen is supplied to the praying mantis through a complex system of tracheae, which are connected to spiracles (stigmas) located on the abdomen in the back and middle parts of the body. The trachea contains air sacs that enhance ventilation of the respiratory system.
Color
Like many insects, praying mantises naturally have the ability to camouflage to protect themselves from enemies. They change body color depending on their habitat: yellow, brown, green. Brown insects are inseparable from the bark of trees, and green insects live on green leaves.
What does a praying mantis eat?
It should be noted that the praying mantis is a predator that feeds on smaller insects and is not afraid to attack prey larger than itself. Flies and mosquitoes, wasps and bees, butterflies and bumblebees, beetles - that's all that the praying mantis eats. Larger species are capable of attacking even small birds, rodents and small amphibians: lizards, frogs.
Praying mantises ambush their prey, quickly grab it with their front paws and do not let go until they eat it completely.
Lifestyle of a praying mantis
Having figured out what the praying mantis eats, you need to get acquainted with how the life of this insect is organized. Mantis leads sedentary image life, settling for a long time in one territory. If there is enough food around, an insect can spend its entire life on one plant or tree branch.
Despite the fact that praying mantises fly well and have two pairs of wings, they use them quite rarely, preferring to use their long limbs for movement. Males fly mainly at night, flying from branch to branch. In addition, they move from tier to tier, at the foot tall trees and on the tops of crowns, depending on where the praying mantises live.
We talked about the fact that these insects cannot stand the cold. Therefore, the question arises of how the praying mantis overwinters. It experiences the cold period of time in the form of diapausing eggs, the laying of which begins in the summer and ends late autumn. A clutch can contain up to three hundred eggs. They remain in a capsule until spring and easily tolerate frosts down to 18 °C.
Reproduction of praying mantises
With the beginning of the mating season (as a rule, it occurs in autumn), male praying mantises, using their olfactory organs, begin to search for females who are ready to mate. Having found his chosen one, the male performs a “mating dance” in front of her, which automatically turns him into a sexual partner. After this, mating begins, during which the female praying mantis bites off the male's head and then completely eats him.
Scientists believe that this behavior has biological reasons. By eating her “groom,” the female replenishes her protein supply. nutrients, which are necessary for future offspring. In rare cases, the male manages to leave the bloodthirsty chosen one in time and avoids a sad fate.
After some time, the female lays eggs, enveloping their entire surface with a special sticky secretion, which she secretes from the glands. For eggs, this is a kind of protective capsule, which is called an ooteca. The fertility of each female largely depends on the species. As a rule, one clutch consists of 300-400 eggs. Insect larvae stay in eggs treated in this way from three weeks to six months, after which they crawl out of them on their own. Then their development proceeds rapidly, and after four to eight molts the larva turns into an adult mantis.
Stories related to the praying mantis are mythical legends and riddles. Many people still don’t really know what the praying mantis eats. After all, there are rumors about the incredible cruelty and aggressiveness of these creatures. I wonder if they really eat each other? It's time to figure out what the mantis beetle actually eats.
The insect belongs to the order of cockroaches. It has impressive dimensions, and the female is twice as large as the male - her body reaches 50-75 mm, while the height of the male is only 40-50 mm. To understand what a praying mantis eats, just look at the structure of its body. The insect has massive, well-developed forelimbs with sharp spines. Grasping legs are needed for hunting, and sharp spines, like knives, pierce the prey. The hind legs are used for locomotion. This leads to the conclusion that praying mantises eat far from plant foods. These are real predators who stalk their prey from ambush.
You can meet the common praying mantis in the tropics and subtropics. In Russia it is widespread in and in Crimea, there are species that inhabit Far East and southern Siberia. In their usual habitat: on tree branches and in the grass, mantises are well camouflaged. They blend in with the green foliage and take off when necessary. Females and males have equally developed wings. But they rarely fly. Tree mantises may not leave their entire lives favorite place. The main condition is that there is always food. The fact is that the praying mantis eats mainly small insects that are half the size of itself. At the same time, the diet of females and males is no different. At the same time, rumors about the female’s gluttony during
I pairings are confirmed.
There are several hypotheses to explain why mating ends with the partner's head being ripped off. One version is that the female is simply hungry and aggressive, which is why she eats her partner.
But there is a more original hypothesis, which is based on the fact that the female’s hunger has nothing to do with it. Some males, having reached their chosen one, jump on their backs and begin mating, but they are not able to complete it due to inhibitory impulses coming from the head. For this reason, the female simply tears off her partner's head, as a result of which the male finally impregnates his cruel partner.
In all likelihood, this fact makes many people think that cannibalism is common among praying mantises. This is partly true, although the answer to the question of what a praying mantis eats is quite banal. Food for these cockroaches is any living organism that is not larger in size. In terrariums this can even be meat and small lizards. The mantis is afraid of prey that is too large, so it does not hunt it.
To catch up with its prey, it can chase it for a long time, try to jump from behind and grab it by the head. It also begins to eat caught prey from the head. Adults are very voracious - at one time a male can eat 7-8 cockroaches 1 cm long. The hungrier the mantis, the more aggressive it will behave and react to every movement. Once full, the insects become lethargic and stop hunting for a while.
