They’re also the only invertebrate that can see in 3D-but it’s a different kind of 3D vision than our own.
Between the head and the thorax there is a flexible joint that allows mantises to swivel their heads around 180 degrees, the only insect that can do so. The mantid’s thorax, or center part of the body, is long and slender enough to look like a neck. He may lose his head as she bites into him-but he doesn't lose his purpose, as he continues to mate with her. The second and third sections of these limbs have interlocking spines, like a claw clip for your hair, making escape impossible.įemales are often as merciless to their mates as they are to their meals, cannibalizing a mate. Springing forward, they grasp their victim with those forelegs, called raptorial legs. Mantids may stalk or ambush prey, waiting silently then launching a sudden, individually calculated attack on their quarry that takes only milliseconds. The name most commonly refers to Mantis religiosa, the European praying mantis-but it is also used for many of the other 2,500 mantis species in the world, which live on all continents except Antarctica.īut whatever you call the praying mantis, its name is only one vowel off from the mantises’ real defining characteristic-preying. Praying mantises are predatory insects named for the look of their folded forelegs, which are held close together as if praying. Current Population Trend: Unknown What is a praying mantis?
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