Common Praying Mantis - a living trap for insects

Mantis - large insects with a narrow elongated body. Natural born predators and camouflage masters attack prey from an ambush, completely merging with foliage and branches. By exterminating insects of phytophages, they benefit agriculture. The mantis is an ordinary typical representative of the order of the mantis, living in Europe. A characteristic feature of insects is the front legs, equipped with tools for grasping and holding prey. On the hips and lower legs there are sharp spikes that catch a careless victim like a trap. Mantis is known to many about the marriage cannibalism of mantises. This amazing feature has become an inspiration for writing scary stories and making films.

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Common Mantis (Mantisreligiosa) belongs to the order of the mantis, including 2800 species. The body of the insect is narrow and elongated. Males grow up to 43-52 mm, females are much larger - 50-75 mm. The anatomical feature of the mantis is the structure of the forelimbs. The grasping legs with spiky elongated hips and legs are designed to hold prey. The thigh and lower leg in the ligament function according to the principle of scissors. On the inside of the coxae of the forelimbs there is a dark spot with a white mark in the middle.

Interesting fact. Despite the fact that females are larger than males, males have longer tendrils and large eyes.

The head is triangular, mobile, the insect is able to look back. On the sides are large, convex faceted eyes. In European mantises they have a black pupil. On the forehead there are long filiform antennae and three simple eyes. The mouth apparatus of the gnawing type is directed downward. The common mantis has two pairs of well-developed wings. Light males and young females are able to fly over a considerable distance.
The front wings are narrow and leathery, they replace the elytra. The hind wings are wide, in a calm state fold on the back like a fan. The pronotum expands at the top, but never covers the head. The abdomen is elongated, soft, consists of 10 segments. On the last segment are located appendages - tserki. On the sides of the body are 10 pairs of spiracles.

The type of coloring of the common mantis is patronizing. Body color is green (in 80% of cases), yellow, light or dark brown. Camouflage coloring allows you to merge with the environment. When the insect is motionless, it completely mimics under the foliage or twig. Camouflage has two functions: it allows you to hunt from ambush and hide from enemies.

Information. When the enemy attacks, the mantis opens its wings to increase in size. He sways from side to side and menacingly raises his front legs and the edge of the abdomen. All actions are aimed at scaring off the aggressor. If the enemy is too large, the mantis flies away.

Name history

The scientific name for the species in Latin is Mantisreligiosa. The word mantis is translated “priest”, “prophet”, religiosa - “religious”.Carl Linnaeus chose the name not by chance, expecting prey, an ordinary mantis or a religious mantis folds its tibia into the groove of the hips. His posture resembles a person frozen in prayer.

Distribution area

The species Mantisreligiosa is thermophilic; you will not find it beyond the 50th parallel. The northern border of distribution in Europe runs along the south of Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, and France. Common Praying Mantis is often found in the southern European regions, on the islands of the Mediterranean Sea, in Sudan, in the Middle East. Predatory insects were brought to distant parts of the world - New Guinea, USA, partially populated by southern Canada. Climate warming contributes to the spread of habitat to the north. The adults of Mantisreligiosa are recorded in Belarus and Latvia, where they did not live before. In Russia, insects live in large numbers on the Black Sea coast, in the Crimea and the Caucasus.

Lifestyle

Praying Mantis lives and hunts as a typical "ambush." The predator freezes until the prey is within reach. He grabs the prey with his front legs and begins to eat from the head. Males are careful in choosing hunting objects; they attack flies, locusts and other small insects. Large females often attack victims almost equal in size to them. Aggressive individuals attack lizards, birds, frogs. They jump onto the back of a reptile and bite behind its head. The fight lasts several minutes, in the process the hunter may become a victim. If successful, the production is eaten within 2-3 hours. The female remains full until 4-5 days.

You can meet Mantisreligiosa in the forest, steppe forbs, in the meadow. Insects do not avoid even large cities where they adapted to live in grass, parks and gardens. Favorite habitat of the common mantis is tall trees and shrubs. Insects prefer a sedentary lifestyle. They do not leave their usual territory, move between tiers. Four limbs are used for movement, less often wings.

With enough food, they spend their entire lives on one plant. Insects have excellent eyesight, they capture the slightest movement in the environment. Camouflage coloring allows you to imperceptibly approach production. Hunting takes place in the daytime. At the prey, all soft tissues are eaten, chitin legs and wings remain. How long an ordinary praying mantis lives depends on the amount of food and gender. The age of females is longer, on average, representatives of the species in natural conditions live 2-3 months. In captivity, the life span of insects increases several times and amounts to 12-13 months.

Like any insect, a mantis has many natural enemies. Birds, snakes, small mammals, bats prey on him. Arthropod runs slowly, takes off heavily. His awesome dance with spread wings fan only frightens inexperienced young birds. For other large hunters, the mantis is an easy prey.

Value in nature

The biological significance of the common mantis is associated with its lifestyle. He is a predator that exterminates harmful insects. Adults and larvae eat phytophages on trees and shrubs. More than once attempts have been made to organize the protection of agricultural land with the help of mantis. Large-scale plans to use predators as biological weapons against pests were unsuccessful, but many farmers are buying Mantisreligiosa wines. They are placed in gardens to safely kill aphids and thrips.

Predatory behavior of mantis has its drawbacks. They make the difference between beneficial and harmful insects for humans. Mantis catch and eat honey bees, so the appearance of a species near the apiary creates problems. In most cases, people owe the predator the containment of pests and parasites, so as a thank you should save the habitats and the insects themselves.

Propagation Features

Sexual dimorphism of insects is pronounced in the sizes of males and females.

The sexual behavior of insects has been closely studied by scientists. Relations between partners are divided into two stages:

• preliminary courtship;
• pairing.

In temperate climates, the breeding season falls on August – September. At the end of the abdomen of males are the sensitive organs of smell - cerci. With their help, insects capture pheromones of females. The process of courtship is to carefully approach the object of passion. The male slowly and carefully moves to the female, trying to get around her from behind. When she turns her head, she freezes in place, taking advantage of the fact that the mantises do not respond to motionless figures. Courting takes a few hours, but allows you to stay alive until mating.

Having reached a potential partner, the male jumps onto her back. He holds with his feet, placing them in special grooves on the sides of the mid-breast of the female. In such a safe position, he begins copulation. The process can last 4-5 hours. In 50% of cases, the male manages to escape. Having run away from the partner to a safe distance, he freezes for several minutes. It is necessary for relaxation.

Praying mantises are insects with incomplete transformation. An individual develops in 3 stages: an egg, a larva, an imago. 10-11 days after fertilization, the female common mantis lays eggs. Masonry is 100-300 pieces. A sticky secret is released along with the eggs. After solidification of the liquid, an ooteka is formed - a protective capsule in which the masonry is not exposed to external influences. Ooteka is yellow or brown in color; it is attached to branches or stones. The eggs are left to hibernate.

Larvae

The offspring of mantises appears in the spring. Larvae are born with many spines on the body and two strands on the abdomen. Spikes help young growth out of the capsule. The larvae hang on the tail threads, so the first molt occurs. Before growing up they will have to go through another 4 molt. Flightless larvae look like adults. They feed on flies Drosophila, aphids, thrips.

Mating cannibalism

During the reproduction period under the influence of sex hormones, the aggressiveness of females increases. The partner is in danger if the female is starving for 2-3 days. She can attack the male before copulation. This will provide the necessary nutrients, in addition, the size of the prey is larger than ordinary insects. The partner risks dying during mating; loss of head does not affect copulation. Eating a male after taking a spermatophore has the same reasons. A female praying mantis provides nutrition for future offspring, increasing the chances of producing a large number of eggs.

Interesting fact. Males choose to mate large, well-fed females, this reduces the risk of being eaten during fertilization.

Nutrition and Tips

A domestic praying mantis is an exotic pet that can live at home for about a year. Insects are smart, contact, quite large sizes. A pet terrarium is required to accommodate a pet. They come in two types: plastic and glass. The second option is preferable. Air access is provided by a mesh cover. The length of the dwelling should be 3 times the size of the body of the mantis.

The thermophilic insect requires a temperature of 22-26 ° C. It can be maintained with a special heater or a lamp installed near the tank. Recommended humidity is 40-60%. Supported by daily spraying of the substrate. It is not necessary to put a drinker, enough moisture on the walls of the terrarium. The pet is taken up safely, the more often the contact occurs, the sooner he gets used to the person.

Sand or coconut shavings are poured onto the bottom as a substrate. Twigs and snags are placed inside, on which the insect will crawl. An important nuance in the maintenance of several ordinary mantis is their placement in different containers. This will prevent the cannibalism characteristic of the species. Grasshoppers, flies, locusts, crickets, cockroaches serve as food for the predator. Pet fed every 2-3 days.Depending on the size at a time give 1-3 feed insects. By launching the extraction inside the container, you can observe the hunt.

Security measures

Despite the widespread occurrence of insects in some regions of Russia, the common mantis is listed in the Red Book. It is classified as a rare species in the Chelyabinsk, Voronezh, Kurgan, Belgorod and Lipetsk regions. The number of insects decreased as a result of plowing of land, grass fallen, continuous hayfields, the use of pesticides in the processing of fields. In the habitats of the mantis, economic activity is limited. To protect the species, plowing, grazing, pesticides, killing or capture of insects is prohibited. In Germany, the common mantis is listed on the Red List as a shrinking species. It can not be caught in nature and kept at home as a pet.