Mantises are insects known for their distinctive upright posture, which often resembles a state of prayer. These creatures, belonging to the order Mantodea, are found across tropical and temperate regions worldwide. With over 2,400 known species, mantises are successful and widespread predators. Their predatory nature shapes their anatomy and behavior in remarkable ways.
What Mantises Hunt and Consume
Mantises are primarily carnivorous, relying on protein from other animals. Their diet predominantly consists of a wide array of insects, including flies, moths, crickets, and grasshoppers. They also readily consume beetles, spiders, and smaller arthropods such as aphids, leafhoppers, and mosquitoes.
The specific prey a mantis targets often depends on its size and developmental stage. Younger and smaller mantises typically feed on tiny insects like fruit flies and aphids. As they grow, they graduate to larger insect prey.
Some of the larger mantis species exhibit a more diverse diet, capable of preying on small vertebrates. This can include lizards, frogs, fish, and even small birds like hummingbirds. They also consume snakes and rodents.
Cannibalism is another notable aspect of the mantis diet, particularly among females. Female mantises may consume males during or after mating, which can provide essential nutrients for egg production. While more common in captivity, this behavior also occurs in the wild. Adult mantises may prey on younger or smaller individuals of their own species when food is limited.
How Mantises Catch Their Food
Mantises are highly effective predators due to their sophisticated hunting strategies and specialized physical adaptations. They are ambush predators, waiting for prey to come within striking distance. This hunting style is greatly aided by their exceptional camouflage, allowing them to blend seamlessly with their environment, often resembling foliage, bark, or even flowers. Some species can even sway gently to mimic plants moving in a breeze, further enhancing their disguise.
Their distinctive hunting tools are their raptorial forelegs, powerfully built and equipped with sharp spines. These forelegs are held in a folded, “praying” posture, ready to snap shut. When prey is detected, the mantis unleashes a lightning-fast strike, capturing its victim with remarkable speed, typically in 50 to 70 milliseconds. The strong, spiny grip of their forelegs ensures that once caught, escape is nearly impossible for the prey.
Mantises possess excellent eyesight for spotting and tracking prey. Their large, widely spaced compound eyes provide stereoscopic vision, allowing for precise depth perception. A unique adaptation is their ability to rotate their triangular heads almost 180 degrees on a flexible neck. This allows them to scan their surroundings without moving their bodies, minimizing detection by both prey and predators. Once captured, mantises typically begin consuming their prey head-first, often while the prey is still alive.