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 a 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 the common praying mantis from school biology textbooks. 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 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.

The head of the praying mantis is triangular in 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 with strong paws. After that, the victim has no chance of survival.

Unlike males that feed on rather small insects, heavy large females prefer their counterparts of the same, and sometimes even larger 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

I must say that the male praying mantis to get romantic relationship not easy: the female, larger and stronger, can easily eat the unlucky groom, especially during the 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. The main feature of the common praying mantis is that the female devours 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. This 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. IN temperate latitudes eggs overwinter, and in the southern regions the 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 mantis live in natural conditions - 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.

At first glance, the praying mantis is an absolutely harmless insect. Fragile, thin, imperceptible in the grass and on the branches of trees. But not what it seems. First of all, it is almost clear to everyone that he was named so because of the prayerfully folded front legs. It can sit in its posture for hours, but don't be fooled, the mantis insect is a formidable predator. He attacks victims much larger than himself. Mantis fights with large spiders and even with snakes are known! Involuntarily, you will wonder if people made a mistake with the name?

Compared with relatives, this is a rather large representative of its class. Individual individuals can reach 76 millimeters in length and even more. Females are usually larger than males. If the size is the same, then it is rather difficult to determine the sex of individuals before adulthood.

They mimic beautifully. There are species that are very similar to flowers, others can easily get lost in the leaves, and all with one goal - to lie in wait for a suitable victim! They are completely harmless to humans. The only way a praying mantis insect can harm a human is to scratch a finger with the jagged edges of its front paws if handled carelessly.

People who see them for the first time simply do not believe at first that this is a creature of earthly origin. Its very unusual appearance and all his alien appearance. And, of course, it is very difficult to realize that this is a formidable predator. It is not always possible to clearly distinguish the appearance of such a small creature as a praying mantis. An insect (its photo can bewitch anyone) seems to be dancing a strange ritual dance.

Some people even keep them at home as they are not too difficult to care for. The insect will need to change housing several times. At first, a package of yogurt is fine, but later you will have to find a bigger "apartment" for him. Throughout life, the mantis insect sheds its skin, increasing in size.

We must not forget to feed him on time, and also in his dwelling there should always be branches on which he can hang, this is especially important during periods of molting. But he does not need to drink - it is only necessary to provide sufficient humidity.

If it is decided to breed individuals of different sexes, then, firstly, it is necessary to prepare a voluminous cage, and secondly, a sufficient amount of food. Otherwise, the larger female may eat the male after mating. It can happen immediately, as soon as the individuals are together or within a few days. After the end of the mating period, the male must be resettled again.

In due time, the female lays from 30 to 300 eggs, from which new individuals hatch in a few months. To prevent cannibalism among newborns, you need to put them in a large container with plenty of hiding places and live food. After the second or third molt, they all need to be seated.

The praying mantis insect, unlike most of its counterparts, has a number of unique skills. In addition to excellent mimicry abilities, he can turn his head almost 180 degrees in different directions and even look over his shoulder. By the way, females, unlike males, cannot fly, although representatives of both sexes have wings. They are just too heavy to fly.

• 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 such a 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 lurking predators, 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 kind of 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 larger 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.

1. These fascinating insects are formidable predators. The angelic pose of the praying mantis is deceptive. If a bee or fly happens to land within reach, the praying mantis will grab the unfortunate insect with lightning speed. Sharp spikes line the predatory front legs of the praying mantis, allowing him to firmly grasp the prey. Some praying mantises catch and eat lizards, frogs, and even birds. Who said there are no mistakes in the food chain?! Praying mantises are carnivorous insects with a very impressive appetite.

2. The praying mantis has prominent front legs that are bent and fastened together at an angle, as if in a position of prayer. A large group of these insects are called prayer mantises. Mantis - a genus of praying mantises - praying mantids. The word mantis (from the Greek mantikos) means soothsayer or prophet. These insects really look mysterious, especially when their front legs are entwined, as if in prayer.

3. They have triangular heads, worn on a long neck, an elongated chest. Mantids can turn their heads 180 degrees. No other insect can do this.

4. Yes, the praying mantis has five eyes! Do you think two eyes would be enough? But not for the praying mantis! These species of insects have a five-eyed configuration. In addition to the two large eyes, there are three small eyes located in the middle of the head. They use these eyes to detect light, to observe movement, and for deep vision.

I had no idea that praying mantises could be so colorful! Orchid mantis

5. Praying mantises have one ear located on their stomach.
Five eyes and one ear? Mantis are crazy! The auditory organ of the praying mantis is located in the middle of their abdomen, between the last set of legs. Their ear is not like ours - it hears only loud high-pitched sounds, the rest of the sounds are perceived as vibrations.

6. Not all praying mantises have an ear, but only those that, as a rule, do not fly. Mantis species that lose their wings and move around by walking can be easy prey for bats! At night the bats feed on any flying insects. In order not to be eaten, the praying mantis suddenly falls to the ground.

7. When praying mantises are born, they go through three stages of development: eggs, nymph and adult. In spring they appear as nymphs. Nymphs look a lot like miniature versions of their parents. The lifespan of a praying mantis is less than one year.

8. There is a praying mantis that looks like an orchid.
This is not just a pink and white insect, but a rather amazing flower-like praying mantis. A species of praying mantis that looks like an orchid is called Orchid mantis with Latin name Hymenopus coronatus. Seeing is believing

9. Praying mantis doesn't shy away from danger.
The insect is not that big. But in order to avoid the threat, they, while remaining in place, will try to look bigger: raise their wings, stand up, stretch as high as possible. May sway from left to right to appear more intimidating. It works? Actually, yes! Animals that are not particularly interested in eating them consider the praying mantis a slightly suspicious prey. Are they poisonous? In addition, some types of praying mantis have very bright colors.

Praying mantis and baby crocodile - meeting

10. A female praying mantis can have up to 1,000 babies.
After mating, she will produce eggs called ootheca. Each can contain 200 eggs. In total, she can produce 6 of them! Not every species of praying mantis is as productive, some species produce significantly fewer eggs. However, a female praying mantis doesn't need to mate more than once to produce many babies—one drunken mistake can have long-term consequences.

11. Mantis will attack prey that is much larger than them. Most praying mantis species are not easily intimidated, they will go all the way. An amazing feat, considering that the praying mantis has no venom at all. He just needs to hold his prey and start eating it. It is much easier for spiders, as they quickly paralyze their prey with poison. There have been reports of mantis catching hummingbirds, mice, huge spiders and equal in size to other praying mantises. Asian mantises, Chinese mantises, African mantises and Budwit mantises are capable of this tactic. The thinner varieties rely more on camouflage and less on bold attack while hunting. Ghostly mantises take great risks when attacking.

12. Most praying mantises live in the tropics. The approximately 2,000 species of mantids described to date are nearly all found in the tropics. Most often, praying mantises are exotic species. Mantises (Mantodea) represent more than 2400 species in about 430 genera in 15 families. The most big family praying mantis - Mantidae ("mantids"). Mantis are distributed throughout the world in temperate and tropical habitats.

Photographer Igor Sivanouiks /Two beautiful praying mantises

13. Mantids are closely related to cockroaches and termites. It is believed that praying mantises, termites and cockroaches are descended from common ancestor. Entomologists group these insects in the superorder Dictyoptera due to their close evolutionary relationship.

14. Mantid eggs overwinter in cool conditions. The female praying mantis lays her eggs on a branch or stem in autumn and then protects them with a styro-like substance she secretes from her body. This forms a protective egg case in which her offspring will develop over the winter. Mantid eggs are easy to spot in winter when leaves fall from shrubs and trees. But if you bring a mantle outeca into your warm home, you'll soon find several hundred small praying mantises.

15. Female mantises sometimes eat their boyfriends. Yes, it's true, in 30% of cases, women - mantiza really kill their own sexual partners. In some cases, they decapitate the poor guy even before he ends his relationship. As it turns out, a Mantid male becomes an even better lover when his brain, which controls inhibition, separates from the abdominal ganglion, which controls the actual act of copulation. Most of the cases of sexual killing of mantises occur, scientists believe, not at all because the man is a bad fuck, but because the partner needs protein from the male body, which will later help the eggs develop.

16. Mantids are relatively young, in terms of evolutionary time. The earliest fossil mantids date from the Cretaceous Period, between 146-66 million years.

17. Masters of disguise. Usually green or brown, they camouflage well on the plants they live among. Praying mantis lie in ambush and patiently hunt down their prey. Butterflies, crickets, grasshoppers and other insects are usually their unfortunate recipients.

Sources:
Borror and DeLonge "Introduction to the Study of Insects", 7th edition, Charles A. Thringhorn and Norman F. Johnson
Insects: Their Natural History and Diversity by Stephen A. Marshall
Encyclopedia of Insects, 2nd Edition, edited by Vincent H. Resch and Ring T. Carde
Evolution of Insects by David Grimaldi and Michael S. Engel
Experienced Praying Mantises: Hidden in Mere Sight, by Roberta Bret, Smithsonian Zoo Newsletter, September-October 1997
The Death of Order: A Comprehensive Molecular Phylogenetic Study Confirms Termites Are Eusocial Cockroaches, Dagan Inoard, George Beccaloni and Paul Eggleton. Biol. Lett. June 22, 2007, vol. 3 no. 3 331-335

The summer of 2016 will be remembered by Muscovites not only for heavy rains, but also for the fact that praying mantises suddenly appeared on the streets of the big city. 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 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 on early stage development of eggs 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 very 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 effective 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.