Mantids+the+religious+cannibal

Order: Mantodea


Mantodea or mantises (praying mantises) is an order of Insecta that can be found worldwide in temperate and tropical habitats. They are mostly (if not exclusively) ambush predators and their diet mostly consists of other insects. (Most mantises will even engage in cannibalism.) Mantids are ambush predators due to their ability to blend in and even mimic their surroundings, and their tendency to patiently wait for their prey to unexpectedly approached them and then the matodeas grab their prey with their specialized forelegs. ([|1)]

**Description:** Speaking of forelegs, the mantises most defining traits are their specialized forelegs (also known as raptorial legs). These raptorial legs are different from the rest of the mantid’s legs because these forelegs are composed of enlarged femurs (upper portion) that have a groove lined with spines into which the tibia (lower portion) presses. The forelegs are modified in this way so that mantids can affectively capture their prey in a vice like grip and have a good hold on their food as it struggles to break away. [|(2)]Aside from the forelegs a mantid can also be identified by its elongated and flexibly articulated prothorax (1st thorax segment). This flexible prothorax is vital for the mantid because it allows them to have a greater range of movement in their front limbs (which improves their ability to capture prey). ([|3]) The articulation of the mantid’s triangular head is also unique because it is so flexible that the mantid can rotate its head to a 180º angle. This helps the mantid look over it's shoulder and with its two large compound eyes and 3 simple ( Ocelli) eyes obtain a greater range of vision without having to move its entire body. This improved range of vision helps them look for food and also helps them avoid predators like bats, birds and spiders. ([|4])



**Life Cycle:** Mantodea undergo a very interesting life cycle. Their life cycle is hemimetabolous (which means that the young are miniature versions of their parents) and therefore this cycle consist of 3 stages. Which are known as the egg, the nymph, and the adult stage. The stage starts when one mantis looks for and mates with another mantis (of the opposite sex) around autumn. During the mating process two outcomes can occur. One outcome is that the male mates with the female and escapes unharmed. The second outcome on the other hand is that the male doesn’t escape unharmed and instead his mate eats him alive while he is mating with her. While that may seem counterproductive some theorizes that females eat some of their mates to alleviate the food limitations during oogenesis ([|5]). Overall regardless of the fate of the males, the mating process occurs and the female creates up to 400 eggs (the number of eggs depends on the species). She then deposits these eggs into a frothy mass. This substance then hardens around the eggs creating a protective coat/capsule known as an ootheca (which is the synapomorphy for the superorder Dictyoptera). ([|6]) Then in late spring (or early summer) the eggs in the ootheca will start to hatch and tiny nymphs will emerge.( [|7])These hatched nymphs look like tiny versions of their parents except that unlike their parents these nymphs lack wings .([|6])Also it is important to know that during this stage the nymphs are often cannibalistic and will even eat their own siblings that have hatched with them. Another thing is that during this early stage in their development the nymphs will prey on small insects such as midges and fruit flies and as they increase in size they will go after larger prey (such as grasshoppers, larger flies and bees). The nymphs increase in size due to a process known as molting; which involves the insect replacing its outer covering with a sturdy, flexible, and better exoskeleton then before. This process can happen up to several times and it is after the final molt (in the late summer) that the mantids wings are present and visible and the nymphs have matured into full adults.( [|7])

 

**Ecological and human impact:** The biggest impact that Mantids have on their environment is that they serve as a biological control agent (in other words through predation they make sure that their environment isn’t overpopulated with insects such as flies, grasshoppers and bees). As such some organic farmers/gardeners that avoid using pesticides try to use mantises as a biological pest control. mantis egg cases are even sold in some garden stores for that very purpose. However while mantids do eat aphids and other pests, they basically eat any type of insect so they will also eat neutral and beneficial insects.([|7]) However, mantids haven’t only affected humanity’s gardens but they have also affected humanity’s mythology as well. For example the name “mantis” itself means diviner or “prophet” in ancient Greek and they were given this name due to the belief that mantises had supernatural powers. (Which might be due to the mantis’s nature of either remaining motionless or swaying gently back and forth, with head raised and front legs outstretched in a way that looks like it is in supplication (a form of prayer)). Some mythology powers that mantids were said to have were that the brown saliva of a mantid can cause blindness in a man, and a mantid, if eaten, can kill a horse or mule.[|(2)]Overall mantises in their natural environments (which generally consists of tree trunks, bushes, grasses and other plants.) ([|6]) are fascinating insects that capture humanity’s interest throughout the centuries.

This wiki page is by Giangiorgi.L

Bibliography: (1) "Praying Mantis Mantis Religiosa." Nationalgeographic. National Geographic Society, 1996-2013. Web. 10 Nov. 2013. .

(2)"mantid." Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica Online Academic Edition. Encyclopædia Britannica Inc., 2013. Web. 10 Nov. 2013. <[]>.

(3)Milne, Lorus, and Margery Milne. National Audubon Society Field Guide to Insects and Spiders. New York: Alfred A Knopf, 2000. Print.

(4) Conklin, Gladys, Olive L. Earle, Lilo Hess, Harriet E. Huntington, Sylvia Johnson, and Bianca Varres. "Praying Mantid Information." CISEO. University of Arizona, 1996. Web. 10 Nov. 2013.

(5) Hurd, L. E., R. M. Eisenberg, W. F. Fagan, K. J. Tilmon, W. E. Snyder, K. S. Vandersall, S. G. Datz, and J. D. Welch. "Cannibalism Reverses Male-Biased Sex Ratio in Adult Mantids: Female Strategy against Food Limitation?" Oikos 69.2 (1994): 193-98. JSTOR. Web. 10 Nov. 2013. <http://www.jstor.org/stable/3546137>.

(6) "Mantodea: Praying Mantids." CSIRO. Commonwealth Scientific and Industrial Research Organisation, 31 Oct. 2011. Web. 10 Nov. 2013. <http://www.ento.csiro.au/education/insects/mantodea.html>.

(7) Cranshaw, W. S. "Mantids of Colorado." Colorado State University Extension. CSU, 19 Apr. 2013. Web. 8 Nov. 2013. <http://www.ext.colostate.edu/pubs/insect/05510.html>.

Images Figure 1. Shankar shiva (photographer) "Praying mantis"(2005) (web photo) retrieved 10 Nov 2013 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Praying_mantis_india.jpg

Figure 2. "Leg of praying mantis" (1909) (drawing) From the British Museum of Natural History. retrieved 10 Nov 2013 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:MantisLegGBMNH.jpg

Figure 3. Fir002 (Author) "Adult Large Brown Mantid" (January 2006) (web photo) retrieved 10 Nov 2013 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Large_brown_mantid_close_up_nohair.jpg

Figure 4. Zwentibold (Author) "Couple of Mantis religiosa, Lower Austria" (2005) (web photo) retrieved 10 Nov 2013 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mantis_religiosa_couple.JPG

Figure 5. Hillewart Hans (Author) "Ootheca (egg case) of praying mantis. Sardinia, Italy" (25 April 2008) (web photo) retrieved 10 Nov 2013 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mantis_religiosa_%28egg_case%29.jpg

Figure 6. Werther Jacopo (photographer) "Newly-hatched baby mantises" (1 March 2008, 12:20) (web photo) retrieved 10 Nov 2013 from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Mantises_have_hatched.jpg