Meet the Mantis: A Fearless Predator
The world of insects is filled with all kinds of interesting and unique creatures, but none quite match the fearsome reputation of the mantis. These insects are real killing machines, able to take down prey that’s not only larger than themselves but also includes birds, snakes, and even cats. What makes them so fearless, aggressive, and bloodthirsty? Let’s take a closer look.
Typically, the food chain looks quite logical and understandable. Cats hunt mice, lizards eat insects, but the mantis operates on a different level. Its best defense is an attack, and not just a short one. The mantis uses its powerful front legs to squeeze the head of its prey, not letting it close its jaws. Then, it starts eating the prey alive.
Most often, the mantis sets up an ambush, merging with the leaves or tree bark to attack unexpectedly with its front legs. It catches prey at such a speed that its movement is difficult to track with the human eye. The structure of the mantis’s body makes it an ideal killer. They have triangular heads located on a long neck or elongated chest. The mantis can rotate its head 180 degrees to scan the environment with two large complex eyes and three other simple ones located between them.
The mantis has four legs covered with spikes, which it uses to keep its prey in place. It doesn’t care about the size of the prey or its opinion on the matter. Moths, crickets, grasshoppers, flies, and other insects usually get added to the menu of the mantis. However, these insects eat their own kind too. The most famous example is the infamous mating behavior of the adult female, who sometimes eats her other half right after or even during mating.
But it’s quite another thing for the mantis to attack snakes. Small snakes are no match for the mantis, which uses its widely spaced back legs for stability and makes sharp attacks to grab the snake. If the snake doesn’t move fast enough, it can’t escape from the grip of the mantis. The mantis tries to get to the head of the prey, and when it does, it starts to eat. It doesn’t matter that the snake is still hoping for salvation.
Mice are also on the menu of the mantis, even if these mice are the size of the mantis itself. The scheme is the same: an unexpected throw, powerful spiked legs squeezing the prey, unsuccessful attempts to get free, and a slow meal right during the fight. The mouse is still twitching, but the mantis doesn’t care anymore. It’s already started dinner, and this is not a sight for the faint of heart.
Despite their veracity, the mantis is sometimes used as a natural remedy for pest control. Where the mantis lives, there’s no need to wait for the invasion of mice or cockroaches, for example. However, because predators eat indiscriminately, they can eat as many good beetles as bad ones. There’s a very thin line between the extermination of pests and a garden full of mantis, where there’s no one left at all.
The mantis is not the type of predator that chases its prey like lions on the savannah. Most often, it attacks from an ambush. Some of the mantis are well-camouflaged, while others expect to stay still until their prey appears or until it gets too close. The hummingbird on the video was lucky; according to the description, both it and the mantis survived. This bird was also saved through human intervention. If it weren’t for a fateful kick on the mantis, the world would be one hummingbird less.
