Mantises are predatory insects that have received such an interesting name for the special “prayer” pose they take in the process of tracking down prey. For a long time they were classified as cockroaches due to the similarity of signs, but over time they were separated into a separate detachment of the Bogomolovs.
External characteristics of praying mantises
There are more than 2 thousand species of praying mantises on the planet, and all of them radically differ from each other in color and lifestyle. How to determine the type of praying mantis? According to external signs, representatives of the Bogomolov detachment have many similar characteristics: a small triangular head, very mobile, with well-developed eyes, a narrow body, articular limbs.
Existing intricately patterned forewings often used by insects for protection; in the event of an approaching danger, they plow them wide, which scares off the enemy. Transparent rear wings are required for flight. Sometimes completely wingless or short-winged specimens are found. How to determine what species a praying mantis is?
Insect specificity
The most specific feature of such a unique insect is its color, which matches the color of individual elements of its habitat: stones, grass, flowers, tree leaves. The most common praying mantises are yellow and brown and green in color, which accounts for 80% of their total number. It is almost impossible to see a motionless praying mantis in the natural environment. An insect can betray its presence only by movement.
The praying mantis moves slowly, but in case of danger it is able to move very quickly to a safe distance and freeze in place again. Because the favorite posture of such a unique insect is expectant. Like spiders, praying mantises are ambushes, ready to patiently wait for a careless cat for days on end.
Mantises are solitary. Activity is shown to a greater extent during the day, as a potential victim is tracked visually. It is precisely because of the long wait that the vast majority of insects have a protective coloration, and some specimens have a special body shape. For example, species of praying mantis that live in the grass are painted green and resemble a blade of grass, brown-colored insects look like dry twigs. In the praying mantis Choerododis stalii, tiny specks mimic damage to the leaf plate of the plant. Tropical praying mantis species waiting for their preyin flowers, have a curved abdomen and flat lobes on their feet, resembling flower petals.
Especially striking in adaptability to natural colors The orchid mantis, which is white when young, becomes pink as it matures, completely indistinguishable from a flower.
Mantis: the most common species
The common praying mantis is the most common.
In Russia, species of such insects are found mostly in the steppe regions, as well as in the south of Siberia, the North Caucasus, the Far East, South Africa, Central Asia and Kazakhstan. The tree mantis of the genus Hierodula and the spotted mantis (Iris polysticica) also live there.
In the southern regions of Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus, the Empusa praying mantis has adapted, characterized by large size (about 6.5 cm in length), a pointed triangular head and a protruding long outgrowth in front.
Preferring open bushy spaces, most active at night. The larvae appear in the summer and immediately switch to feeding on butterflies and fillies. In the southern regions of Russia, a praying mantis of the genus Bolivaria is often found.
By the way, bolivarians, spotted-winged praying mantises and empusas in some places are becoming rare representatives of the animal world for a reasondestruction of dense herbs when plowing steppe lands.
Desert species of praying mantis, whose names are difficult to remember for the average man in the street, are characterized by small size and similarity to ants in the process of movement. Rivetinas (Rivetina and Armena) are prominent representatives.
Habitat
The praying mantis can live both on the upper tiers of trees and shrubs, and at the very surface of the earth, in the grass. Thanks to well-developed wings, the insect can fly, and only males rush in flight. With enough food, the praying mantis can live on a tree for the rest of its life.
Being heat-loving by nature, praying mantises feel most comfortable in the tropical and subtropical zones. It is there, in rocky deserts and humid forests, that the largest number of varieties of such an insect is found. In a cold climate, predators tend to settle in the warmest regions: upland meadows and steppes.
Features of food
Almost all types of praying mantis feed on insects, representatives of the tropics prefer lizards and frogs. During the day, the praying mantis is able to eat 7 small cockroaches, spending about half an hour chewing each one. In the process of eating, it is consistent: first chews on soft parts, and then moves on to harder ones. The norm of life for them is cannibalism, which sometimes manifests itself at the most inopportune moment.
It is noticed that the female praying mantis after mating often eats her chosen one. Not toto be in the stomach of his lady, the partner performs a ritual dance before the act of intercourse, setting the female in a peaceful mood.
Tropical praying mantis mating occurs year-round, temperate mantis species join in a single burst in autumn. The female is able to lay up to four hundred eggs several times. The place of masonry chooses any suitable surface: grass stalks, tree branches, sand. The female dips each clutch into a foamy mass, which, when solidified, forms a capsule of gray, brown or sandy color. Egg maturation lasts from 3 weeks to six months. In temperate species, the eggs survive the winter. Praying mantis nymphs differ from adult insects only in the absence of wings; the body shape is exactly the same, as is the voracity. Growing individuals develop very quickly and in the process of growing up they can survive about fifty molts.
Intimidate the enemy
Praying mantises are peaceful insects, but in the face of an approaching danger they take an unfriendly "hunting" pose. For greater intimidation, they can make sounds: rustle their wings, click their legs. If this did not have any effect on the enemy, they fly away or rush at the enemy and bite him. Moreover, in an attack on the enemy, in an attempt to prick him forward, he puts forward grasping legs. Enemies of praying mantises are chameleons, snakes, birds. Today, praying mantises are becoming more and more popular and sought-after animals in domestic insectariums.
