Hello Insect lovers
Hello everyone, today I woke up very happy and in an incredible mood. In this wonderful community I am going to be publishing this beautiful post of a very amazing insect that can camouflage itself with the plants and leaves that are in nature.
This post is my participation in the Incredible and Wonderful Contest of the Insects of the World community, made by @adalger.
This insect that you can see in this photo is of the order of neopteran insects, its scientific name is Mantodea, it is commonly known in some parts as Mantis religiosa or simply Mantis, in my country few people know it as Tara.
The praying mantis has a medium size, which makes it measure 6 to 7 cm. The most interesting thing is that inside its two large eyes there are three smaller eyes inside, and if you want to see it you would need a microscope, but just knowing the fact that this insect has other eyes inside another one, is something that makes it a very peculiar mantis.
An interesting fact is: As the name says, Praying Mantis does not mean that this insect goes to church every day. Hahahaha
The first two and biggest legs of the Mantis are always kept together and close to each other, which have thorns that serve them so that when they grab their prey they can not escape and so the mantis can have a very good feast and have a belly full of heart content. (I do not know if the Mantis has a heart but that phrase makes this post funny right?)
And to finish with that doubtful question, the answer is yes, Praying Mantises have heart and circulatory system, this is something incredible and that some of us like you and me didn't know.
But the most interesting and rare part is that they mate when the weather is temperate, in tropical areas they can mate on any day of the year. For the mantis to mate the male must court her and then is that comes the honeymoon, where the male jumps and rides on the back of the female Mantis and the male grabs the female's thorax and wings with the two front legs, and then you know what's coming. (intimacy!! Hahahahaha)
This photo is by Oliver Koemmerling and is an example of how the female praying mantis eats the male.
And here comes the most interesting ritual, after a due time while mating mantises of different sexes the female eats the male and that is because all species of Mantodeas practice sexual cannibalism. (Thank God we humans do not practice sexual cannibalism, because if not where would be the fathers, there would be only mothers, everything would be different right?)
An interesting and very rare fact is that the female Mantis after doing this ritual and spending a due time, usually lay between 10 to 400 eggs, but remember that this depends on the type of species.
Praying Mantises have an approximate lifespan, the small species usually live between 4 to 8 weeks and the larger ones have a longer lifespan of 12 to 14 months. (What a short lifespan the small Mantodeas have. That's really bad luck).
Other interesting facts are that: The Praying Mantis can turn its head up to 180º (degrees).
With the speed they have in their front legs they can grab a fly in flight.
There is a type of martial art inspired by the way the praying mantis attacks its prey.
Well, this is the end of this post about the Mantodea or Praying Mantis. See you soon where I will tell you about other incredible insects and interesting facts that make this insect very peculiar.
Research Sources: Praying Mantis and Mantodea
All images and photographs I upload, unless I specify otherwise, are made and owned by me. @josueprime highly original content.
