Mantis what comes out of it. Common praying mantis - live insect trap

Mantises are large predatory insects with an elongated body, a triangular head, and forelimbs designed for grasping and holding prey. They resemble sinister space aliens, although they are ordinary natives of planet Earth. The question of what a praying mantis looks like is becoming less and less relevant. In order to go catching a specimen for your entomological collection, this knowledge will soon no longer be required. The common praying mantis is growing in Russia rare species due to the plowing of the steppes, which are its main habitat. It is listed in the Red Book of some Russian regions.

Are praying mantises found in Russia?

The most common insect species in Europe is " common mantis" This species is also found in Russia, because borders do not matter for the distribution of insects. Going for a walk in the steppe areas there is a chance to spot one of its species. However, civilization is increasingly disrupting the habitual way of life of these insects. It is possible to see a praying mantis even on the asphalt in the middle of the city or on your own windowsill. Of course, the further north you go, the less likely it is to encounter such an insect, since it thrives only in arid, hot climates.

Where do praying mantises live in Russia?

The praying mantis lives in the southern part of central Russia. It can be seen in Crimea and the Caucasus. The praying mantis settles both in steppe grass and on tree branches. If there is enough food around, it can stay in one place throughout its life. The praying mantis lives everywhere in Russia, except that you rarely see it in northern regions. There are only rare individuals. What types of insects are known and what areas are their predominant habitat:

Due to the large size of the insect, the praying mantis is easy to catch. He will focus on the subject of creative biology assignments for Russian schoolchildren. The insect is kept in a jar with ventilation holes in the lid. They feed them flies and larvae. The food must be alive: the insect is used to hunting and will not eat carrion. It is better not to put praying mantises in one container: the stronger individual will destroy the weaker one in the struggle for living space. So, are there any various praying mantises in Russia, every inquisitive schoolchild knows.

Despite the fact that mantises are accustomed to living in trees or among steppe grass, some species are able to adapt to new urban living conditions. After all, without the ability to adapt to changes, an insect will not be able to continue its species, and who knows, perhaps in the near future, the praying mantis will become as common a creature as a fly for residents of megacities.

Praying Mantises ( Mantodea) – special squad insects In a number of features (the structure of the abdomen, wings, the production of special capsules-ootheca for eggs) they are similar to cockroaches - based on these characteristics they were sometimes even combined into one order. But in their lifestyle and behavior, praying mantises are not at all similar to cockroaches - they are active predators living alone.

The praying mantis is known for its "prayer pose" with its front legs folded over its chest. These legs are grasping, with sharp spines, and open like a penknife. Quickly throwing them forward, the mantis deftly captures the prey.

In total, about 2 thousand species of mantises are known. Large tropical species are capable of attacking small lizards, birds, and frogs. But an ordinary praying mantis 6 cm in size can kill and eat a lizard 10 cm long in 3 hours and digest it in 6 days. At this time he doubles in weight. But the usual food of praying mantises is insects.

Praying mantises have a camouflage color - matching the color of the trees, grass, flowers, sticks, stones, leaves among which they live. The motionless mantis in natural environment almost impossible to notice. Only movement can give it away. The praying mantis usually moves very slowly, but if there is obvious danger, it can crawl away quite quickly - and freeze again in a new place. When clearly attacked, this insect behaves differently - it opens its wings, increasing its size, and begins to swing, trying to scare its enemies. A number of tropical species make sounds at the same time - the rustling of wings, the clicking of legs. Some mantises have contrasting spots on their wings that are hidden when at rest. But when the wings spread, these spots, like someone’s large eyes, suddenly appear in front of the enemy, frightening him. In addition, the attacked mantis throws its open grasping legs forward, trying to prick the enemy with its spines.

Praying mantis Pseudocreoborta wahlbergi in a threatening pose

Praying mantises are primarily inhabitants of the tropics or subtropics. Most widely distributed common mantis (Mantis religiosa): from South Africa to Central Asia, Caucasus, south of central Russia - approximately to the line of Kursk, Bryansk, Orel, Belgorod. But along the northern borders of its distribution, the praying mantis is rare. For example, near Kiev we observed it 1–4 times a year, and near Kharkov - even less often, occasionally. But already on the Black Sea coast, in Crimea, in the Caucasus, this is quite common insect. The common mantis is found in southern Siberia, Kazakhstan and the Russian Far East. With ships, this species also came to Australia and the USA, and is now found there even in large cities, for example in New York.

We also had unexpected encounters with a praying mantis: either it flew into the window of a house, or it sat on the sidewalk of a city street, at a trolleybus stop. But still normal environment The habitat of this insect in the city is close to natural: dense thickets of grass, bushes, trees in parks and botanical gardens.

The common praying mantis has three color forms: green, yellow and brown - to match the color of the environment where it lives. We encountered mostly green mantises – up to 80% of encounters. It is possible that the color of this insect also varies across areas of distribution, depending on the area in which which colors of the vegetation predominate.

You can meet the common praying mantis both in the grass and on the branches of bushes and trees. These insects have well-developed wings, but we observed only males flying. They fly especially actively at night, although they can fly from tree to tree during the day. But usually the mantis does not strive to move - if there is food, the tree mantis can live its entire life on one tree or bush, even on one large branch.

The praying mantis has a movable triangular head with developed eyes. He looks around carefully, he is attracted by every slightest movement nearby. Noticing a moving small object, a hungry mantis begins to slowly move towards it and, approaching, grabs it with its hunting legs and eats it. The mantis can catch small insects, motionless waiting for them in ambush, using its protective coloration. But the mantis actively pursues large prey, equal or even larger in size, for example an adult locust, crawls towards it openly, tries to jump onto its back and grabs it, first of all by the head. After which he immediately begins to eat, also from the head.

Stationary objects do not cause any reactions in mantises; they only catch moving prey (similar behavior can be seen in many spiders). But the mantis necessarily reacts to a moving object. In experiments, these insects even tried to catch the image of a colored square moving on a white screen.

If a large object that suddenly appears nearby is too large, the mantis may display a defensive reaction - then it spreads its wings and throws its legs forward with a special repulsive movement, trying to put their sharp ends and spines forward. A well-fed, weakened or old mantis also repels insects approaching it, which in other conditions would become its prey.

The praying mantis is gluttonous. The larvae eat 5–6 aphids, fruit flies, and house flies per day; An adult insect can eat 7-8 cockroaches about a centimeter in length in a row, spending about half an hour on each. Having caught a cockroach, the mantis begins to gnaw its soft parts, especially the abdomen, and finally the harder parts, in particular the head. All that remains of the cockroach are wings, sometimes pieces of legs, and the mantis eats soft insects almost without a trace.

Mantis breeding season temperate climate stretches from August to September. At this time, males begin to migrate in search of females. At the end of the abdomen of mantises there are special outgrowths - cerci, they are organs of smell. In males, the cerci are better developed and, perhaps, help in finding partners.

It is widely believed that a larger and more voracious female praying mantis will definitely eat the male upon meeting. However, in reality this is not always the case. Having noticed the female, the male praying mantis carefully and very slowly, with frequent long stops, freezing, begins to approach her, swaying slightly. At this time, the female can catch prey, eat, and clean herself. If she notices the male’s movement and turns her head towards him, he immediately freezes for a long time. This approach and contact can last 5–6 hours. As a rule, the male tries to approach the female from behind, from the back - this is the most successful and safe way for him. But if he approaches from the side, the female often notices him and attacks. Hungry females are the most aggressive; a well-fed insect reacts sluggishly to moving objects, and this also helps the male protect himself from attack. Positioning itself at the back of the female and quickly leaving after the meeting, the male praying mantis often remains alive. So cannibalism among these creatures is not such an obligatory phenomenon as previously thought.

When laying eggs, the fertilized female simultaneously secretes a special sticky liquid. Enveloping the eggs and hardening, this liquid forms a capsule - an ootheca, in the middle of which there are 100-300 eggs. Oootheca sticks to plants or stones, it is quite hard, retains inside the moisture necessary for the development of eggs and protects them from negative influences. external influences. The eggs of the common mantis in the ooteca can withstand short-term frosts down to –18 °C.

Eggs of praying mantises from the south of central Europe apparently require temporary cooling—winter diapause—to develop. When breeding in captivity, it is often enough to keep the praying mantis eggs in the refrigerator for a month at a temperature of 0... +3 °C. But in the tropics, the development of mantis eggs occurs without diapause.

The newborn mantis larva has long filaments at the end of the abdomen and many backward-pointing spines on the body. These spines help her crawl out of the ootheca. But the tail filaments of the larva are pinched by the edges of the egg capsule - then the larva immediately molts, leaves the old skin and becomes similar to an adult mantis, only small and wingless. It has a protective coloration, but compared to adult insects it is very mobile.

At first, the larvae feed on small thrips and aphids, then, as they grow, they move on to fruit flies and larger flies. When kept in captivity, in a limited space, mantis larvae actively attack each other. But in nature they manage to spread out before it comes to mutual destruction.

In Europe and Central Asia, praying mantis larvae usually appear in April–May. After about two and a half months, having moulted 5 times, they turn into adult insects. After another 10–14 days, males begin to look for females.

An adult insect lives 55–60 days. Males usually die earlier than females - after the breeding season they become lethargic and stop hunting. The male praying mantis, caught in the wild as an adult, died in our captivity by the end of September, and the female died in October. Even when creating optimal conditions, with an abundance of food, warmth and light, mantises die during October, depending on the time of their birth in the spring. That is, the life span of 2 months allotted to an adult insect is very strict. The old mantis develops dark brown spots on its body, and its bright green color fades. A chemical analysis of the insect’s body during this period reveals the disappearance of vital amino acids in the body, in particular valine, leucine, lysine, tryptophan, methionine, threonine, etc. Adding these amino acids to the food and water for the mantis, as well as vitamins A, D, E and a complex of B vitamins prolongs its life up to end of December, i.e. 2–3 months compared to the usual period.

In addition to the usual, in the Crimea, the Caucasus and Transcaucasia, the Southern Volga region, southern Siberia, Kazakhstan and Central Asia spotted wing mantis (Iris polystictica). In the south of the steppe strip you can find praying mantises of the genus Bolivaria, and in Central Asia - tree mantises Hierodula.

Empusa (Empusa) are found in southern Europe, the Caucasus and Transcaucasia, Central Asia and southern Kazakhstan. These mantises have a very characteristic appearance: a triangular head with a pointed end and a special outgrowth sticking out in front - in this way they resemble little devils. These rather large insects (females reach 6.5 cm, males are slightly smaller) are generally similar to the common mantis, but slimmer, with a thinner abdomen. Male empusas have developed feathery antennae, which indicates their good perception of odors. Species of this genus are very active at night. Their larvae appear in the summer and are noticeably larger than the larvae of other mantises, so they immediately begin to feed on small flies (rather than thrips and aphids), and quickly switch to feeding on fillies and butterflies. Unlike a number of other mantises, empusas overwinter not with eggs in the ooteca, but with already grown larvae and even adults.

In addition to plant-living mantises, desert species are also found in Central Asia. They are small in size, stick to sand and rocks, and move quickly in search of prey. Their movements are similar to ants. These are, for example, rivetins ( Rivetina). Baby praying mantises from the armen family ( Armena) have a size of about 1.5 cm and are found not only in deserts, but also in the mountains, at an altitude of up to 2.7 km, where they hide under stones. Desert and mountain species of mantises also have a corresponding gray inconspicuous coloration.

To a certain extent, praying mantises, especially their larvae, are beneficial insects, because destroy pests, especially on fruit trees and berry bushes. Thus, the Central Asian tree mantis eats about 25 g of various insects during its development. However, some of the praying mantises also include useful species, for example bees, riders. Attempts to use mantises to control agricultural pests, their mass breeding and resettlement for these purposes have not yet yielded results. But these insects still deserve careful treatment in their habitats.

IN recent years in a number of places, mantises are becoming rare, in particular in the Crimea - empusa, spotted-winged mantis, bolivarius. A possible reason for this is the destruction of the habitats of these insects, dense steppe vegetation, and the plowing of virgin steppe lands. But by preserving small areas of dense herbs—micro-reserves for insects—and limiting the use of pesticides, mantises can also be preserved. This is especially desirable to do on the northern edges of their range, in Russia, where mantises are already quite rare.

Literature

Gornostaev G.N. Insects of the USSR. – M.: Mysl, 1970.

Animal life. T. 3. Invertebrates. – M.: Education, 1969.

Plavilshchikov N.N. Insect key. – M.: Education, 1957.

Chervona Book of Ukraine (Tvarinniy suite)/Ed. MM. Shcherbak. – Kyiv: Ukrainian Encyclopedia, 1994.

Praying mantises (Mantodea) are one of the orders of insects. There was a time when they were combined into one group with cockroaches, since in a number of characteristics (the structure of the body, wings, the formation of ootheca capsules for eggs to reside in them) they are very similar. However, the behavior and lifestyle of mantises differs significantly from the habits of cockroaches. Praying mantises are active predators and lead a solitary lifestyle.

Most often, the idea of ​​a praying mantis coincides with its “prayerful” pose, in a sort of standing position, with the front legs folded at the top of the abdomen. These legs perform a grasping function, have sharp spines and have the ability to open like a penknife. The praying mantis throws them forward with lightning speed, deftly capturing prey.
There are about 2 thousand known in the world various types praying mantis. An ordinary praying mantis measures about 6 centimeters in length. Their usual food is insects. However, in some cases, such a praying mantis can kill and eat a lizard up to 10 centimeters long. The eating process lasts up to 3 hours, the digestion process lasts 6 days. For large tropical species of mantises, small lizards, birds, and frogs are common food.

The coloring of mantises is very interesting and varied. With its help, they camouflage themselves into their habitat. It can exactly match the color of branches, flowers, grass, tree leaves and stones among which they hide. If the mantis is motionless, it is almost impossible to notice it in the natural environment. The presence of a praying mantis can only be revealed by movement. The insect moves very slowly, however, in case of obvious danger, it is able to move to a safe distance quite quickly and freeze in place again.

When attacked directly, the praying mantis behaves completely differently - it spreads its wings, increasing in size, and begins to sway from side to side, thus trying to scare off the enemy. Some tropical species add sounds to this pose - clicking their legs and rustling their wings. Other mantises have contrasting spots on their wings that are invisible when at rest. In a state of excitement, when the wings spread, these clear spots, like eyes that have come from nowhere, appear in front of the enemy, scaring him away. Among other things, when attacking an enemy, the mantis extends its grasping legs forward, trying to prick the attacker with its spines. The predominant habitat of mantises is the tropics and subtropics.

The most widespread is the common mantis ( Mantis religiosa). It lives in the territory from South Africa to the Caucasus, Central Asia, the south of central Russia - along the lines of Belgorod, Orel, Bryansk, Kursk. However, along northern border The insect is extremely rare in its habitat. In particular, in the area of ​​​​Kyiv and Kharkov, only single individuals of the praying mantis can be found. But further south, in Crimea, the Caucasus and the entire Black Sea coast, it is a fairly common insect.

The common mantis is also found in the Far East, southern Siberia and Kazakhstan. By sea, with ships, it was brought even to the USA and Australia, and is found there not only in nature, but also in big cities. In our country, the praying mantis can also be found in the city: on the sidewalk of a city street, on a park bench or alley, or just at a bus stop. But more familiar environment For him, the city is an environment that is close to natural - bushes, trees, grass, located in the green zone: parks, gardens and vegetable gardens.

The three most common colors are green, brown and yellow, of which 80% are found in green mantises. Usually the color of the praying mantis adapts to its habitat, but perhaps it also changes depending on the area of ​​distribution and the predominant colors of the plant world there.

You can meet the common praying mantis both in the upper tier - on the branches of bushes and trees, and in the lower tier - in the grass near the ground. It has the ability to fly due to its well-developed wings, but only males can be observed in flight. Insects display their flying activity mainly at night, although they occasionally fly from tree to tree during the day. But more often, the praying mantis is not very keen on movement; if there is enough food, it can spend its entire life on one tree or branch.

All praying mantises have a movable triangular head with developed eyes. They carefully monitor their surroundings and react to any movement nearby. If the mantis is hungry, then when it detects a small moving object, it begins to gradually move towards it, and, getting as close as possible, grabs the victim with its hunting legs, after which it eats it. The small ones fall into his paws without any effort on his part. He simply sits motionless in ambush, using his protective coloring, and catches small things crawling or flying past. But the mantis actively pursues large prey, like a locust, quickly crawls towards it or after it, having caught up, jumps on its back and grabs it by the head, from which it begins its meal.

IN lately, as a result of the plowing of steppe lands and the destruction of dense herbs (the main habitats of these insects), in some places, in particular in the Crimea, mantises become rare representatives of the fauna. These include bolivarius, empusa, and spotted-winged mantises. Measures to preserve these insects include: limiting the use of pesticides when cultivating agricultural lands and creating protected areas, where any economic activity human, and thereby preserves the natural natural environment. This is especially true for northern regions habitat of mantises, where they are, today, quite rare.

Insect mantis- one of the most unusual and full of oddities creatures on all earth. His habits, lifestyle, as well as some aspects of the behavior of many people can simply lead to shock. This concerns their mating habits, during which female praying mantis eats gentleman.

The praying mantis is mentioned a lot in mythological works because it is really interesting in all respects and among other insects it probably has no equal.

It inspires fear in the impressionable. These are very close to cockroaches and are essentially predators. Their most unusual feature is their forelimbs, which have a somewhat unusual structure. They are decorated with strong spikes, which help them capture the victim without any problems.

People breed them in terrariums because they are very interesting to watch from the outside. In the natural environment, it is not easy to follow them - mantises are excellent at camouflage, their appearance helps a lot with this. They're on long time they can simply freeze in one position, which makes them even more invisible.

This is how the insect was named in the 18th century by the Swedish naturalist Carl Lineus. This creature, when in ambush and guarding its future victim, takes a position similar to that in which a person prays, hence its strange name.

Not in all countries the insect is called that way. The Spaniards, for example, called it the devil's horse or simply death. These unpleasant and creepy names appeared on him because of his equally creepy habits.

The praying mantis is a predatory insect a ruthless and voracious creature who, knowing his incredible strength and power, can slowly deal with the victim, taking pleasure in it. For people involved in agricultural work, it serves as an excellent assistant in helping to cope with pests.

Features and habitat

From the description of the praying mantis insect, it is known that this is a rather large creature from the genus Mantis. The female is always larger than the male. Its body length is about 7.5 cm. Male praying mantis 2 cm less.

Among them there are giants, reaching a length of up to 18 cm. There are also very tiny creatures, no more than 1 cm. Insects similar to praying mantis - these are grasshoppers and cockroaches. But these are only external similarities. In all other respects they are completely different.

The main weapon and main organ of the insect is the forelimbs, with which the mantis grabs food. In addition, the praying mantis can move quickly with the help of its forelimbs.

The hind limbs are intended purely for movement. Insects have wings. Only males use them mainly because females, having large dimensions, fly extremely rarely.

The head of a praying mantis is in the form of a triangle. She movably communicates with his body. He turns his head to different sides and can see over his shoulder without any problems. Which helps him to notice approaching enemies prematurely.

The insect's abdomen resembles an egg and has longer length. It is soft, consisting of 10 segments, the last of which contains the olfactory organ of insects. Moreover, in females it is much better developed. The insect has only one ear. Regardless of this, his hearing is perfect.

His large and bulging eyes stand out against the background of his triangular head, this is clearly visible on photo of praying mantis. In addition to them, there are three more small eyes; they are located in the area of ​​the antennae. Insect antennae come in several types - in the form of threads, combs and feathers.

The appearance of an insect can be a variety of shades - yellow, gray, dark brown. It depends environment. Very often, a motionless praying mantis blends perfectly with nature. So that it is simply impossible to notice. He needs this disguise in order to stalk his prey without any problems.

You can meet these insects in almost all corners of the planet. They are perfectly suited to tropical and subtropical climates. Praying mantises love rain forests and rocky desert areas.

They are comfortable in the steppes and meadows. They prefer to lead sedentary image life. If everything is in order with food in one place, then they can remain in this territory forever.

Active movement of insects is noticed when they mate. The reason for this may be an insufficient amount of food or the presence of those living creatures that are enemies of mantises. These include chameleons.

Character and lifestyle

All species of praying mantises prefer to be diurnal. They have many enemies in nature, from which they prefer not to flee or hide. They simply turn towards the enemy, spread their wings and begin to scream loudly. The sounds are truly threatening; even people are afraid of them.

Why do females eat their partners? The answer to this question has long been found. The fact is that during mating, the female may simply get carried away by the process or confuse the male with some of her prey.

The period of gestation of eggs is typical for females in that they have a great appetite. Their bodies are desperately short of protein, which females take from the most unusual sources, sometimes eating their own kind.

Mating of insects begins with the simple dance of the male. In the process, he secretes an odorous substance, which helps convey to the female that he is from her kind.

Mostly this helps, but since mantises are cannibals, it doesn't always work. The female bites off her gentleman's head, and then simply cannot stop, devouring him all with great pleasure.

These predators have amazing agility. After sitting in ambush for a long time, they can make a sharp leap towards their prey and in a matter of seconds dig into it with their claws. When jumping, they are excellent at controlling their body, which is another distinctive feature sign of praying mantises.

Feeding a praying mantis

The diet of this insect is dominated by great diversity. The age category of mantises, their parameters and stages of development adjust their needs for a particular food.

For young insects, it is enough to snack on flies. A praying mantis at an older age will not be satisfied with a fly. He needs larger and more substantial food. Frogs, scorpions, etc. are used.

It is still difficult for researchers to observe mantises hunting in wildlife. Especially on victims who are larger than themselves. In frequent cases, their favorite delicacy is their relatives.

As already mentioned, females eat their males during mating. Males always face a choice - to mate and continue their race or to be eaten by their mate. If the female has a good snack before mating, the male has a good chance of surviving.

Praying mantises will never eat carrion. Their victim must definitely resist them, only after that they can slowly and deliberately end it. This is where their predatory nature manifests itself.

Reproduction and lifespan

Mantis mating ends with the females laying several dozen or hundreds of eggs in protein bags specially constructed by them, which depends on the type of insect.

All this happens quite interestingly. The cameras are located on the tree. The female lays one egg in each cell. Time passes and the protein bags freeze, protecting the eggs inside them from external factors and enemies.

There is only one hole in this structure; it is through it that insect larvae are selected. Outwardly, they are very similar to adults, only they do not have wings. These amazing animals live for about six months.

This is one of the most unusual and mysterious insects on our planet. It differs from many others in its habits, lifestyle, and some behavioral characteristics that can be shocking. 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 different species of 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 mantis of this species lives, it can be distinguished by its ovoid abdomen and black spots located on the front pairs of legs on the 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 is a large insect, reaching a length of fifteen centimeters. The male Chinese mantis is much smaller. They are painted green or brown. 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 to beautiful flowers and orchids. It is on them that the insect ambushes in anticipation of the victim. The females of this species are twice the size of the 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 a Swedish traveler and scientist Karl 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 creature, 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. The antennae can be feathery, filamentous or combed, depending on the species. Almost all species of mantises have well-developed wings, but males fly more often, females have significantly more weight, which makes flying 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 patterns. 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 enters the mantis through complex system trachea, which connect with spiracles (stigmas) located on the abdomen in the back and middle parts bodies. 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 mantis is a predator that feeds more small insects, 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. More large varieties 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. The praying mantis leads a sedentary lifestyle, settling in one territory for a long time. 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 layer to layer, at the foot of tall trees and at the tops of crowns, depending on where the mantises live.

We talked about the fact that these insects cannot stand the cold. Therefore, the question arises of how the praying mantis overwinters. Cold period it survives 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

Male praying mantis with onset mating season(as a rule, it occurs in autumn), using the olfactory organs, they 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.