All about praying mantises. Mantis insect: what it eats, where it lives, how it hibernates. Mantis is a typical predator
- Type - Arthropods
- Class - Insects
- Squad - Cockroaches
- Suborder - Mantis (Mantodea)
The famous Swedish scientist and traveler Carl Linnaeus scientific name praying mantis: Mantis religiosa. Mantis in Greek means "prophet", "priest"; religiosa - religious. Why did the praying mantis get this strange name? Look at the photo: the praying mantis looks like a praying mantis. He stands only on four legs out of six, and keeps his forelimbs folded in front of his muzzle, as if he is praying to the Lord.
An engraving by the famous Dutch artist Maurits Escher depicts a praying mantis praying for the remission of the sins of a deceased religious dignitary. The praying mantis really looks like a person: he holds food in his “hands”, washes himself after a meal, can turn around (the only one of all insects!) And stare sharply, just like a person.
But the praying mantis is not at all as pious as it might seem. In fact, a predatory insect is waiting in ambush for a careless victim in order to grab it with a lightning movement.
Mantis is a typical predator
The praying mantis is a typical example of predators lying in wait, or, in other words, an "ambush". For hours he can sit quietly in a secluded place, waiting for prey. Camouflage coloring allows the praying mantis to merge with the vegetation, and even the shape of the body resembles part of the plant. Although it lives among an abundance of greenery, it does not accept plant food. Moreover, the carnivorous insect eats its prey exclusively alive.
Praying mantises are merciless not only to other insects smaller than them in size, which for them is nothing more than a delicious meal, but also to their relatives. This must be known to the one who keeps this aggressive creature as pet. Two or more praying mantises are unlikely to get along together, especially if one is larger than the other in size.
In the Middle Ages in Japan, the praying mantis was considered a symbol of courage and cruelty, and even the image of an insect was applied to the handles of samurai swords. And one of the positions in kung fu repeats the pose of a praying mantis, ready for battle. In addition, in China, they believed that the praying mantis had healing powers and could cure certain diseases. The ancient Greeks considered the praying mantis a messenger of spring and a weather forecaster, they called him a "prophet" and "soothsayer". And in some European countries even today, praying mantises are credited with some magical power. Perhaps this creature, which is the object of superstition, will arouse your interest and you will want to keep it as yours?
Mantises: appearance and structural features
Praying mantises are large insects, and the females are much larger than the males. There are about two thousand species of praying mantis in the world. The common praying mantis (lat. Mantis religiosa) is about 6 cm long. The largest of the praying mantis, the Chinese praying mantis, reaches a length of 15 cm.
The body of praying mantises is elongated, the head is almost triangular, mobile. Large, round, bulging eyes that point slightly forward and down give it a much wider field of vision than a human. And thanks to the extremely flexible neck, the praying mantis can turn its head so that it will notice any creature approaching it from behind. The mouth is well developed and equipped with biting jaws or a sucking proboscis.
Among praying mantises there are both winged and wingless ones. In winged insects, both pairs of wings are well developed. The forewings are narrower than the hindwings and more dense. Wide membranous hindwings are folded in a fan when at rest and covered with elytra. I must say that the wings for their intended purpose, i.e. for flight, the praying mantis rarely uses. Rather, he needs them to intimidate prey, as well as enemies.
The body structure of the praying mantis indicates that the insect is well adapted to predatory image life. The abdomen is ten-segmented, soft and flattened, with numerous long outgrowths - cerci (they serve as organs of smell). The long thigh is seated along the lower edge with three rows of strong spikes. The lower leg also has 3 rows of pronounced spines along the lower edge. The femur and shin that are folded together form a powerful grasping apparatus that acts like scissors.
Praying mantis is a master of camouflage
Some types of praying mantises are green in color, so they are difficult to notice among the grass and foliage, others can cast a pinkish tint, as a result, they merge with the flower petals. And, for example, the Indian praying mantis has a brown tint and looks like just a fallen leaf on the ground.
The body shape of the praying mantis and various camouflage colors allow the insect to merge with plants, which makes it almost invisible to both potential victims and enemies. The praying mantis itself can also become a victim of more large predators(birds, lizards). To protect against enemies, the praying mantis has a number of protective devices.
So, the camouflage color makes the praying mantis hiding in the grass almost invisible. Gives out insect movement. Under normal circumstances, the praying mantis moves very slowly, but in danger it can quickly crawl into cover. With a clear threat, the insect visually enlarges the area of its body, opening its wings, and begins to sway from side to side, trying its best to scare away the enemy. With front legs with sharp spikes, the insect tries to hit the enemy.
Over 2 thousand species of these insects live in the world. And on the territory of our region, only one lives - the common praying mantis.
This predator is not at all as pious as it might seem. Sitting in ambush for hours in a humble pose, he, like an experienced commando, merges with the vegetation. Fortunately, the natural coloring allows him to do this without special training. And at the right moment, the praying mantis grabs its prey with lightning speed and gnaws it alive.
As the professor of the Department of Biology of BelSU explained Alexander Prisny, the praying mantis is the closest relative of the cockroach. But unlike him, he is not content with garbage. Lives not in apartments, but in meadows and steppes. Yes, and a larger size: the local specimen reaches 6 cm in length, and the Chinese one is twice as large.
The praying mantis is distributed on all continents. But there are very few representatives of some species left, so they are listed in the Red Book.
Scare size
The green mantis, also known as the common mantis, often imitates grass, so it is difficult to see it. Large bulging eyes provide great review. A fly, a wasp or a butterfly gapes, and he has already noticed it. The head is triangular, the neck is so flexible that it can turn back like an owl.
These clumsy predators are terribly voracious. Always ready to attack makes them hold their front legs with tenacious spikes, like scissors. They eat everything from aphids to bugs. Females are not afraid to grab prey much larger than themselves, such as a frog.
Some species have wings, but more often they use them to intimidate enemies. And the praying mantis has a lot of enemies.
Photo from pixabay.com
“Young individuals can be eaten by predatory beetles (ground beetles), spiders, lizards. Adults are some birds, for example, shrikes,” says Prisny.
The trick of the praying mantis is not to run away, but to scare the enemy. When he is attacked, he tries to visually become larger. To do this, it sharply throws out its wings and hisses, swaying from side to side.
Deadly mistress
The plot, which can serve as a horror film, is commonplace for praying mantises. They only mate once. The female is always larger than her boyfriend. And this fatal lady with a high probability will not only break his heart, but also bite off his head. Right during the action.
“She eats it if she is hungry,” explains the professor. – This food goes to the development of the eggs and the formation of the egg capsule. In other words, for procreation.
Scientists believe that the female praying mantis is inclined to cannibalism by an off-scale amount of sex hormones. Here, too, the gentleman is exhausted, he cannot resist ... And for further development in ootheca (laying form) eggs are required a large number of squirrel.
Having chosen a lady of the heart, the future father sneaks up behind her for several hours. And then he tries to quickly leave the place of the orgy in order to avoid the role of an appetizer. The probability of losing your head is reduced if the chosen one has eaten tightly before the start of love games. But the paradox is that only a hungry female releases a huge amount of attracting pheromones. It is for such fragrant ladies that praying mantises arrange real duels not for life, but for death. True, their age is already short-lived - these insects live on average for about a year.
Is it possible to keep praying mantises at home?
AT recent times it has become fashionable to keep praying mantises in terrariums. For humans, they are practically safe - only a large female can bite through human skin.
“It’s better to have males. Moreover, in the second half of September and in October, when the breeding season is over, Prisny advises.
Feed the pet will have only live and twitching food. Crickets, grasshoppers, cockroaches, flies are perfect. Neighbors less than himself, he will definitely eat. Putting two males together is also not worth it.
It is believed that praying mantises are orderlies of the fields. In the Soviet Union, at one time they wanted to use them industrially as biological protection from agricultural pests. True, this idea had to be abandoned, because the praying mantises also ate beneficial insects, the same bees. In the US and Asian countries, they are still kept in houses to control flies.
Some peoples had a belief that, having frightened the praying mantis, a person shortens his life. It was believed that his bite saves from warts, and he himself is able to predict the future and show the way: the insect should stretch its upper leg in the direction where it should go.
The ancient Greeks attributed to him the ability to predict the onset of spring. And in Rome, if someone fell ill, they said to him: "It was the praying mantis who looked at you".
The praying mantis played a cult role: his image was found on a Proserpine coin from Metapontus, next to the sacred ear of the Eleusinian mysteries.
On the engraving of the famous Dutch artist Maurits Escher a praying mantis is depicted, who prays for the remission of the sins of the deceased religious dignitary.
The praying mantis is named after one of the styles of Chinese wushu martial arts. It was invented by a Chinese peasant who was watching a predator hunt.
Anna Morozova
The common praying mantis is an insect belonging to the family of true praying mantises. This is the most common representative of the species in Europe.
Description
It's pretty large insect. The common praying mantis, whose dimensions range from 42 to 52 mm (males) and from 48 to 75 mm (females), is a predator. It has forelimbs adapted for holding food. The praying mantis is part of the cockroach order, forming numerous species, consisting of three thousand subspecies.
The name was given to him by Carl Linnaeus, the great systematist, who noticed that the pose of the praying mantis, when he sits in ambush, is very reminiscent of a man who folded his hand in prayer. Therefore, the scientist called him Mantis religiosa, which translates as "religious priest."
Coloring
You probably know from school biology textbooks common praying mantis. Its coloration type is very variable, ranging from yellow or green to dark brown or brown-gray. Usually it corresponds to the habitat, matches the color of grass, stones and leaves.
The most common color is green or white-yellow. In older individuals, the outfit is paler. Dark brown spots appear on the body with age. This is due to the fact that the production of amino acids important for life stops in the body: methionine, leucine, tryptophan, etc. In laboratory conditions, when these substances are added to the feed, the life of the insect almost doubles - up to four months. This is the maximum period that an ordinary praying mantis can live.
Biological features
These insects have well-developed wings, they fly well, but the males move like this, and only at night, and during the day they occasionally allow themselves to flit from branch to branch. The praying mantis has four wings. Two of them are dense and narrow, and the other two are thin and wide. They are able to open like a fan.
praying mantis head triangular shape, very mobile, connected to the chest. It can rotate 180 degrees. This insect has well-developed front paws, which have powerful and sharp spikes. With their help, it grabs its prey and then eats it.
The photo of the common praying mantis, which you can see below, clearly demonstrates that this insect has well-developed eyes. It has excellent vision. The predator, being in an ambush, monitors the environment and instantly reacts to moving objects. He approaches the prey and grabs it strong paws. After that, the victim has no chance of survival.
Unlike males, which feed on small insects, heavy large females prefer their counterparts of the same, and sometimes more large size than they are. interesting story related to told E. Teal. He observed a funny situation on the street of one of the cities of America. car traffic was stopped. The drivers watched with interest the duel between the sparrow and the praying mantis. Surprisingly, the insect won the fight, and the sparrow had to retire from the battlefield in disgrace.
Photo of common praying mantis, habitat
The praying mantis is quite widespread in the south of Europe - from Portugal to Ukraine and Turkey. He did not bypass the islands mediterranean sea(Corsica, Balearic, Sicily, Sardinia, Aegean islands, Malta, Cyprus). Often found in Sudan and Egypt, in the Middle East from Iran to Israel, on the Arabian Peninsula.
The habitat of the common praying mantis also covers the southern regions of our country. Presumably introduced to the eastern United States, in New Guinea, in the 1890s. From these territories, he settled almost all of America and southern Canada. At the very beginning of this century, the praying mantis was discovered in Costa Rica. There are not officially confirmed data that the common praying mantis was found in Jamaica, Australia and Bolivia.
In Europe, the northern border of the range passes through such countries and areas as Belgium and France, Tyrol and southern Germany, the Czech Republic and Austria, southern Poland and Slovakia, the forest-steppe regions of Ukraine and southern Russia.
Scientists note that at the end of the 20th century, the range began to expand to the north. The number of these insects has significantly increased in the north of Germany, and the common praying mantis has appeared in Latvia and Belarus.
Reproduction features
It must be said that it is not easy for a male praying mantis to start a romantic relationship: a female, larger and stronger, can easily eat an unlucky groom, especially during a period when she is not ready to mate or is too hungry. Therefore, the common praying mantis (male) takes all precautions.
mating season
Having noticed the beautiful half, the male begins to creep up to her much more carefully than to the most dangerous and sensitive prey. His movements are not detected by the human eye. There is a feeling that the insect does not move at all, but gradually it approaches the female, while trying to come from behind. If the female at this moment turns in his direction, the male freezes in place for a long time, while swaying a little. Biologists believe that these movements are a signal that switches the behavior of the female from hunting to loving.
This rather peculiar courtship can last up to six hours. It’s better for a gentleman to be a little late for this date than to rush for a minute. The common praying mantis breeds at the very end of summer. On the territory of Russia, they mate from mid-August to early September. The influence of sex hormones provokes an increase in aggressiveness in the behavior of the insect. During this time, cases of cannibalism are not uncommon. main feature common praying mantis - devouring by the female of the male after, and sometimes during mating.
There is a version that the male praying mantis cannot copulate if he has a head, so the sexual intercourse in insects begins with an unpleasant procedure for the male - the female tears off his head. However, more often mating occurs without victims, but after its completion, the female eats the male, and even then only in half of the cases.
As it turned out, she eats her partner not because of her special bloodthirstiness or harmfulness, but because of the great need for protein in the first stage of egg development.
Offspring
The common praying mantis, whose photo you can see in this article, lays eggs in ootheca. it special shape laying, characteristic of molluscs and cockroaches. It is a horizontal row of eggs, which can be two or more.
The female fills them with a foamy protein substance, which, when solidified, forms a capsule. As a rule, up to 300 eggs are laid. The capsule has a rather hard structure that easily sticks to plants or rocks, protecting the egg from external influences.
Optimum humidity and temperature are maintained inside the capsule. In the ooteca, eggs cannot die even at temperatures down to -18 °C. AT temperate latitudes eggs hibernate, and in the southern regions incubation period is a month.
Larvae
Thirty days later, larvae emerge from the eggs. On their surface are small spikes that help them get out of the capsule. After that, the larvae molt. Later, they shed their skin and become like adults, but without wings. The common praying mantis larva is very mobile, it has a protective color.
In most distribution areas, these hatch in late April - early May. In two and a half months, they molt five times. Only after that they become adult insects. The process of puberty is two weeks, then the males begin to look for their other half for mating. Praying mantises live in vivo- two months. The males die first. After mating, they no longer look for prey, become very lethargic and quickly die. They live only until September, and females survive them for a month. Their age ends in October.
Lifestyle and diet
The basis of the praying mantis diet is insects. The largest individuals (mainly females) often attack lizards, frogs and even birds. The common praying mantis eats its prey slowly. This process can last about three hours, and during the week the food is digested.
Praying mantis can hardly be called a lover of hiking. Only by the end of summer do males radically change their way of life: they begin to wander around. Faced with his brother, the insect enters into a fight, and the loser has a chance not only to die, but also to become dinner for the victorious opponent. Of course, in these journeys, male praying mantises are not looking for tournament glory at all, they need the love of a beautiful female.
The habitat of the common praying mantis is a tree or shrub, but sometimes they can freeze on the grass or on the ground. Insects move from tier to tier, so they can be found both at the top of the crown and at the foot tall tree. And another one interesting feature: Mantis only reacts to moving targets. Objects that are motionless are not interesting to him.
This predator is very voracious. An adult insect eats up to seven centimeter-sized cockroaches at a time. It takes about thirty minutes to eat the victim. First, he eats soft tissues, and only after that he proceeds to hard ones. The praying mantis leaves limbs and wings from the cockroach. Softer insects are eaten whole. Usually the praying mantis prefers When he has enough food, he lives on the same tree throughout his life.
Why is the praying mantis so called?
The praying mantis family includes about 800 varieties. They have long and narrow bodies, six legs each, brown or green wings up to 5 cm long. But why is this insect called somewhat unusual - a praying mantis?
The praying mantis got its name because of the structure of the body, habits and, of course, the associative connections of people. Very often it can be seen in a motionless pose, with the front, largest legs raised up. He stands like that for hours, folding them, as if praying. The structure of the forelimbs of the praying mantis vaguely resembles human hands, bent at the elbows. Rubbing them and shaking their head at the same time, the praying mantis resembles a praying person. Hence the name "praying mantis", that is, he prays to God. Even the great Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus gave this insect a name associated with religion - Mantis religiosa, that is, "religious soothsayer (prophet)".
Despite such a benevolent name, praying mantises are considered one of the most cruel and bloodthirsty insects. The praying mantis folds its legs in this way, not for prayer, but for hunting. As soon as some insect appears nearby, the praying mantis throws its folded legs forward with lightning speed and grabs the victim. To keep her praying mantis help located on inside front legs are sharp notches.
Praying mantises jump on four hind legs and can fly from place to place. Moreover, they are the only insects that can turn their heads to the sides and back and even look over their shoulders. So it is difficult for the victim to dodge them, they will notice her anyway. Praying mantises catch prey and, holding it with their paws, slowly savor it.
This insect has long been of interest to scientists and the fear of all people who have heard of it. Praying mantises are popularly called "soothsayers" and "mule killers". The first name apparently comes from the suggestive “praying” posture, and the second comes from the belief that the saliva of the praying mantis can poison the mule.
The summer of 2016 will be remembered by Muscovites not only for heavy rains, but also for the fact that on the streets big city praying mantises suddenly appeared. Green insects, which were previously not found in the capital, can now be seen everywhere.
“This is due to warming, an increase in air temperature. Remember what the weather was like recently. But the heat is more than suitable for them. And in principle, they also appear in other places where they were not there before - more and more praying mantises can be found in the north. The area is shifting, and this is the result of gradual climate change, ”said AiF.ru candidate of biological sciences, associate professor, entomologist Yuri Gninenko.
1. The praying mantis was so named because of the structure of the legs.
Praying mantis got its name thanks to the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus. When this learned man saw the insect, it seemed to him that it was communicating with the Lord. The fact is that the insect folded its forelimbs like the believers fasten their hands in prayer. And the insect shakes its head, as if muttering something. Therefore, Linnaeus decided to call his "discovery" Mantis religiosa, that is, "religious prophet." In the Russian tradition, the insect began to be called the praying mantis.
Photo: Commons.wikimedia.org / Premysl Malek
2. The female praying mantis bites off the male's head.
The female praying mantises are much larger than the males. In 50% of cases, they eat males after mating. At the same time, sometimes the female bites off the head of her gentleman right during intercourse, which, however, does not prevent him from successfully completing sexual intercourse. This behavior of young ladies is due to the fact that at an early stage of egg development they need a lot of protein. And the male is just the closest and most reliable source of it.
3. Praying mantis eggs are not afraid of either frost or pesticides.
Praying mantises lay their eggs in special protective capsules called ootheca. They are a complex protein material that will allow insect offspring to survive not only under extremely low temperatures but also under the influence of pesticides. In some cultures around the world, praying mantis eggs are used as natural remedies to increase male potency.
4. Mantises are predators.
Praying mantises feed exclusively on living food - they need it to spin and resist. They mainly prey on insect pests. So praying mantises help us save the harvest. However, a really hungry insect is not particularly picky and can also attack frogs, lizards, snakes, mice, etc.
5. Praying mantises are excellent camouflage.
Praying mantises are masters of disguise. Depending on the environment, they can be both green and brown. Therefore, it is extremely difficult to see praying mantises among the foliage or on the bark of a tree. With each molt, these insects acquire a color that will best match nature. It is extremely difficult for the victim to see praying mantises in time, as they may not move for hours, but they are the only ones among insects that have the ability to rotate their heads in different directions and even look over their shoulders.
6. Mantises are not dangerous to humans.
Praying mantises are often kept as pets and are not dangerous to humans. However, it is not recommended to specifically tease and annoy the insect - after all, it is a predator. If he decides that you are a danger to him, then he may well bite. The bite, of course, will be non-lethal, but very painful.
7. In honor of the praying mantis, one of the fighting styles was named.
In Chinese wushu, the most popular style is the praying mantis style. Once a legendary martial arts teacher Wang Lang created this very simple and efficient technique, based on his observations of how a praying mantis attacks a cicada. The latter, although outnumbered by the attacker in size, nevertheless turned out to be completely helpless in front of his quick and accurate movements.
