Praying Mantis
Summary: One of the most fascinating insects native to North America is the praying mantis. The praying mantis is a green or brown insect that uses camouflage and spiked, grasping forearms to capture prey.
The praying mantis may have a head shaped like a heart, but it is heartless when it comes to how the female treats her mate. Female praying mantises will often eat the male after they mate. The reasons for this are debatable, but some researchers believe it increases the chances for successful reproduction.
In addition to dining on other mantises, praying mantises will eat many other insects like flies, aphids, and beetles. Large mantises have also been known to capture small frogs, mice, and hummingbirds.
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The mantis has powerful, spiked forelegs that it uses to grasp its prey. Its front legs are bent down as if folded in prayer. This is not the only reason that mantises have become associated with religion. The patience of a mantis is notorious. It can be still for very long periods while it waits for prey, looking like it is in meditation. Interestingly, the name mantis comes from the Greek word for soothsayer, yet another reference to the spirituality of this insect.
Mantises are usually considered beneficial insects in gardens because they prey on insects like Japanese beetles that feed on plants like roses. The European mantis, Carolina Mantis, and Chinese Mantis are commonly found in US backyards. They range in size from under a half inch to over six inches long. When threatened, a mantis will stand up on its back legs and spread its forearms and its wings, so it appears larger to its potential predator. This menacing posture is not just an act. Mantises can back up their threat with a painful bite. They are not great fliers, but they have excellent vision. They can swivel their head all the way around without moving the rest of their body. This helps them to see in all directions.
If you have mantises in your garden, consider yourself lucky. They might look like prehistoric nightmares, but they are too small to be of any danger to a human being and they are not poisonous. The only consideration you might want to make is to keep bird feeders away from plant materials where the mantises might be hiding. This will protect unsuspecting hummingbirds and keep the mantises focused on killing bugs that are harmful to your garden plants.
Comments
14 Nov 2008, 15:54
15 Nov 2008, 11:01
The praying mantis is not a federally protected insect, as is often thought. They are beneficial, for sure, but not insde your house. Use any household pesticide with a residual. Treat cracks and crevices where you discover the insects or collect them and put them outside in an area protected from the cold.
30 Dec 2008, 17:02