Praying Mantis - Cirrus Digital Imaging

Praying Mantis - Tenodera aridifolia sinensis
Class Insecta / Subclass Pterygota / Infraclass Neoptera / Order Dictyoptera / Suborder Mantodea / Family Mantidae -- mantids
This mantis is commonly known as the Chinese mantis. Although the female mantis sometimes eats the male after mating, its name suggests a more benign activity. Mantis is from the Greek, meaning prophet or seer.

Adult Chinese Mantis
	Mantis Nymph
Mantis with grasshopper Prey 1024 X 683	Neck attacked first 750 X 500	Twig was accidentally caught too 2160 X 1440
Extreme closeups - note 3 simple eyes (ocelli) between antennae
I watched as this praying mantis snatched a grasshopper in midair. The mantis strike has been captured in high-speed photography and measured at 30 to 50 one-thousandths of a second -- faster than the eye can see. Mantids rely on their exquisite camouflage while hunting. They usually remain in ambush completely motionless, letting prey blunder into range, or they do a slow stalk much like a cat. It is frequently reported that prey becomes impaled on the spines lining the front legs, but I don't think that's correct. The spines are simply not situated in such wise as to effect penetration; they appear to me arranged for grasping and holding an insect while it is being dismantled. Even in the case of a relatively soft-bodied insect such as the syrphid fly pictured here (fig.4), the spines are clearly not penetrating the surface of the abdomen. True to form, this mantis first attacked the neck of the grasshopper, a soft spot in the armor. Thus, the struggle quickly ends and the hunter can dine in peace. The strong prominent mouthparts of this predator have evolved into a very efficient ripping and tearing mechanism. My camera clock shows this attack and feast took somewhat less that 6 minutes. She was not a fastidious diner - various parts were dropped and only the soft abdominal segments were consumed. I don't think these killing machines have any trouble securing a meal anytime they want.

Mantis eyes "pupil" effect is quite convincing.

Mantis eyes turn dark in low light.

Adult Chinese mantis is 110 millimeters long (about 4 1/4")

Mantids have triangular heads with large compound eyes and three simple eyes (ocelli) in a triangular arrangement between the antennae. Considerable research has been done on the mantis' eyesight. It has been shown that this insect is capable of stereoscopic vision, allowing it to accurately gauge distances as do most mammalian predators; it uses the extreme mobility of its head (a mantis can turn its head fully 180 degrees and their vision covers 300 degrees) to use parallax (the apparent movement of an object against a more distant background) as a reinforcement to the binocular triangulation. The compound eyes themselves are a work of art - their faceted nature always presents the appearance of a black pupil pointed directly at you. It is such a convincing optical illusion that it was only recently that I even took note of it and made myself think about the fact that mantids do not have eyeballs or pupils. In addition to this curious feature, the entire surface of the eyes change color according to the amount of ambient light - they are light green or tan in sunlight, and chocolate brown at twilight or in low light conditions.

Mantis forelimb spines do not impale even soft-bodied prey.

Dark-eyed praying mantis
Late season mantis - I found this gal wandering around in my dormant flower bed on November 3rd.

Both male and females mantises feed on a broad range of insects, and some species stalk small frogs, lizards, and even hummingbirds. In the fall, females lay hundreds of eggs in a large mass known as an ootheca. Each mass is covered with a foamy liquid which hardens into a bird and insect-resistent shell. Metamorphosis is simple. In springtime, the eggs hatch and soft, cream-colored mini-mantises squirm out. They immediately beging hunting and eating smaller insects, and even each other. Because mantids help control pests, they are counted among the most beneficial of insects, and are sold commercially for introduction into home gardens or kept as pets.

The Chinese Mantis, Tenodera aridifolia sinensis, (subfamily: Mantinae) is definitely on the increase here in northern Illinois. There were none here at all 40 years ago, when I was a boy. I definitely would have run into (and probably captured, and kept, and fed) them. But now, in the year 2002, I suddenly see them in the field in great numbers during mid- to late summer. They can be quite a startling sight when they suddenly burst into flight - generally only when you come upon them suddenly and they haven't time to crawl deeper into the vegetation - they much prefer to stand still and let their exquisite camouflage do the trick. But when they fly, look out! The buzzing (more like a fierce rustling, actually) of their huge wings and the sight of this enormous creature lumbering slowly into the air can be very intimidating. They'll only fly a short distance, though. Generating enough lift for that huge body requires a large expenditure of energy the insect could better use hunting.

There are 11 mantis species in North America
There are 1800 mantis species worldwide
Many entomologists advocate placing mantids in the order Orthoptera, along with grasshoppers and crickets
Mantis egg sacs can hold up to 400 eggs, depending on species
"Eight Step Praying Mantis" is one form of the ancient Chinese martial art Kung Fu
Mantids have two sets of wings. The leathery outer pair are used only to cover the membraneous flying wings.

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