Praying Mantis - not your average insect.

Don't let the name fool you; the praying mantis is not a venerable insect. Nor does it aspire to quiet contemplation in consideration of its maker. The pious way it holds its forearms and its stoic lack of motion has a different purpose; its hunting.

Its main source of food is other insects. The funny thing about these six-legged invertebrates is that they can't pick out details. They are limited to three main visual factors that include motion, colour, and light. If something doesn't move, if it blends in, and if it is neither lighter nor darker than the surroundings, an insect simply doesn't see it. Or more precisely put, it doesn't notice it.

This falls perfectly into the hunting method of mantids. They are essentially invisible to any would-be meals. Their stealth is deceiving. Those forearms are lightning fast when the need arises. The opposing spurs on the tibia and tarsus will hold any captive fast; the strong hooks at the end of those clamps ensure compliance. Whatever is caught won't be getting away.

Mantids are one of the few insects with the ability to move their head with so much flexibility. This allows it to remain relatively still while searching the vicinity for something tasty. I grew up in Ontario where praying mantids are common. I can remember walking along a path in the summer and disturbing a grasshopper that fled the scene. It unwittingly flew right towards an awaiting mantis; it took only a fraction of a second for it to pull the fleeing insect out of the air render it helpless. The next step was obvious; it began to feed.

Mantids have abominable table manners. Many insects and arachnids will capture prey, kill it through the injection of poison or digestive enzymes, and consume it when the victim becomes fully compliant. Not mantids. With complete control there is no need for chemical dispatching methodology; they simply begin to eat. The struggling insect is consumed in its entirety. It eventually succumbs to its ever-widening wounds. This sounds bad enough for hapless invertebrates but is horrifying when considering the fate of any captured vertebrates. Praying mantids have been known to eat birds, reptiles, and amphibians that are small enough for them to control.

I have to admit that, as a child, I caught a fair share of praying mantids and found suitable meals for them. They never seemed to mind being in captivity; their instinct for acquiring and ingesting food seemed to be their greatest priority. I once even caught a pair, male and female, and put them in the same container. The next morning only one was present. The female had mated with the male and then took the next step in the courtship procedure. She ate him. His contribution was greatly appreciated as she would eventually go on to lay an egg mass that would hatch the following spring.

The praying mantis could be renamed the preying mantis; the one letter change giving a greater testament to its nature. Not praying to but preying on. Subtle and yet not. I wonder if they would mind the change.

Thanks for reading.     Ericspix     Eric Svendsen