Some mantid facts
Mantids
What are the Mantid's Eating Habits?
A. Extremely predacious
B. Eats only live prey, or at least prey that is moving, and hence, appears
alive
C. Some say that it will eat "anything," even reptiles and small birds, but
others indicate it
prefers "soft bodied" insects which it can easily devour. These dietary
preferences very by
species. Males are generally less aggressive predators than females.
D. Cannibalistic, both as a nymph and as a adult. Baby mantids will eat other
babies, adults will
eat their own or others' babies, and adults will eat each other
E. Diurnal, that is, mainly eats during the day. But mantids also congregate and
feed around
artificial light sources.
F. Often waits motionless for unsuspecting prey to get within striking
distance--a "sit-and wait"
and wait or ambush strategy, but also can slowly stalk prey
G. Often begins to undulate and sway just before striking its prey. Some have
speculated this is
to mimic the movement of surrounding foliage. Others suggest that this behavior
aids in the
visualization process.
H. Attacks by "pinching" and impaling prey between its spiked lower tibia and
upper femur
I. The mantid's strike takes an amazing 30 to 50 one-thousandth of a second. The
strike is so
fast that it cannot be processed by the human brain. It uses the view before and
after the strike
and "tricks" you into seeing what occurs in-between.
J. After securing the prey with its legs, rapidly chews at the prey's neck to
immobilize it
K. If well fed, will selectively choose to devour "select" parts of its prey and
discard the rest
L. If any part of the prey is dropped during feeding, it will not retrieve it.
M. After eating, will often use its mouth to clean the food particles from the
spines of its
tibia, and then wipe its face in a cat-like manner.
VII. How do Mantid's Mate and Reproduce?
A. One of the most interesting, and to humans, disturbing features of mantid
life is the female's
tendency to eat her mate
B. During late summer, a female mantis, already heavy with eggs, is believed to
excrete a
chemical attractant to tempt a willing male into mating
C. The current state of research seems to indicate that the female sometimes
devours the male
during the mating process (between 5-31% if the time)
D. The dead male may also serve as a source of protein for the female and her
young.
E. Recent research indicates that fertilization can take place without the
male's death and that
his demise is not necessary to the process
F. The male's sperm cells are stored in a special chamber in the female's
abdomen called the
spermatheca.
G. The female can begin lay her eggs as early as a day after mating.
H. As the eggs pass through her reproductive system, they are fertilized by the
stored sperm.
I. After finding a suitably raised location--a branch, stem, or building
overhang--special
appendages at the base of her abdomen "froth" the gelatinous egg material into
the shape
characteristic of the particular species as its exits her ovipositor.
J. By instinct, the female twists her abdomen in a spiral motion to create many
individual
"cells" or chambers within the ootheca or egg case.
K. The egg laying process takes between 3 and 5 hours
L. The ootheca soon hardens into a paper mache like substance that is resistant
to the birds and
animals that would attempt to eat it.
M. The carefully crafted pockets of air between the individual egg cells acts
insulation against
cold winter temperatures
N. The number and size of egg cases deposited by a female also varies by species
and she dies
sometime after her final birthing
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